Urban Ink
by Fanwriting
Summary: AU. In the past three years Santana Lopez has achieved what society would deem the perfect life; a fancy house, a good job at her boyfiend's company and exclusive memberships to all the 'right' clubs. But there's one thing that still links her to her past life: an old tattoo.What happens when she has no other choice than to ask for help to the infamous tattooist Brittany S. Pierce?
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Urban Ink.

**Rated**: M for language and future sex scenes

**Summary:** AU. In the past three years Santana Lopez has achieved what society would deem the perfect life; a beautiful house, a good position at her future husband's company and exclusive memberships to all the 'right' clubs. There is only one thing left for her to do to complete her transformation and that is erasing her past permanently by removing her old cross tattoo. But what happens when she goes to the tattoo studio and meets the infamous Brittany S. Pierce?

**A/N:** First i really want to thank ruby-may89 for helping me editing the story. You're already doing an amazing job! Then, of course, natxtk for mostly everything:)

If you want follow me on twitter franmanicardi

Reviews, Pms and twitters are welcome!

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"Santana Lopez you're certainly the most reckless bitch I've ever met!" Quinn Fabray stated falling on her knees right next to her friend.

"Are you sure they won't notice?" She added turning her head to check if anyone was coming.

Santana snorted, slightly lifting her gaze to look directly at the wanted prize. The booth where the valets held all the car keys was standing tall a mere ten meters away from them.

Santana produced her trademark smirk as she realized that she and Quinn were the only ones there in that moment.

"Shh. Or you'll get us caught." She replied her eyes slightly glazed over still fixed on the prize.

"Oh your father is going to be so mad." Quinn said trying to hold back the laughter but the amount of vodka present in her body had other ideas as it still escaped her unwillingly.

"Relax, he won't even notice."

Santana quickly stood up and started walking fearlessly towards the cage. Each step became less fearless and more hopeless as the alcohol in her system continued to affect her physical state. The annual charity event at the Yatch Club had been so damn boring as usual; it wasn't her fault if the only thing she could do to get through those never-ending hours was drink, a lot.

So there she was, two hours, six Gin & tonics and an unknown amount of shots later, walking in the middle of the underground parking of the club, looking for the car keys to her dad's new Audi.

She had to get the hell out of that place she actually didn't have to go anywhere; it was just this overwhelming feeling combined with the need to get away from all those fake, fancy and politically correct people.

"Rock on." She commented with a smirk as she found the key ring in sterling silver engraved with the famous four wheels. She turned around gloating whilst swinging the keys on her pinkie.

"See?" She said looking directly at Quinn. "This is our way out."

Quinn laughed clapping her hands excited to escape from that mind-numbing place.

"We need a driver."

"I am the driver."

"But you're drunk." Quinn tried to argue but she was way to tipsy to really face Santana Lopez

"Coward!" She mocked her with a provoking sneer. "You can come with me and we can go wherever we want or you can go back inside and listen to your dad telling his friend the countless boring stories about sailing. It's up to you." She finished with a shrug of her shoulder and a slightly raised right eyebrow.

Quinn lowered her gaze and for a second Santana really thought that her best friend was about to leave her there.

"Ok, you win."

"As always."

"Don't go too fast!" Quinn suggested while stumbling inside the 180 hp car.

"Don't worry; you won't even notice the trip."

But unfortunately she couldn't have been more wrong. That was about to become the trip that would have changed her life irreversibly.

_Three years later – 09:00 am_

There is always a moment right before you wake during which all of your senses are slowly brought back to life and all you can experience is pure unadulterated feelings, injecting themselves into your system. That was indeed Santana's favorite moment of the day, the only moment in which she wasn't worried or concerned about something. The only moment in which, for just a couple of seconds was able to convince herself to be a different person. But then, as the concept of waking up implies, all the memories and the thoughts that have made you the person you inevitably are, reign over your mind and you are simply left with whoever that may be.

Santana squinted slightly opening her eyes, as she slowly remembered who she was sighing exactly as she had done every single morning for the past three years. The filtered sunlight was suggesting that it was time to get up, get ready and do the same exact things she had done the day before.

Stretching her arm on the left looking for the person who had been sleeping with her for the past few months but when the only thing she felt was cold sheets, she wasn't surprised at all.

Slowly and hesitantly, as she was in no hurry to start the upcoming day, Santana Lopez approached the bathroom door of her, or well her fiancé's two-storey mansion with an outdoor swimming pool.

The big mirror embedded in the wall of Italian marble was reflecting the image of a pretty and healthy 26-year old woman, who seemingly should have her whole life ahead of her, but the mirror thankfully didn't reflect on how Santana was feeling inside. Buried within the deepest walls of her heart, there she was a young girl completely unsatisfied by her life and the way she was leading it.

Everyone would have thought that Santana had finally managed to realize the classic dream of all the girls her age, a sales manager position at her fiancé's company, a great house, a respectable subscription to all the fanciest clubs in the county and probably the most amazing man ready to become her future husband, or at least those were the rumors. Ray hadn't asked for her hand yet, but all her closest friends and especially her mum were confident that he would soon make his move.

_That isn't me._

Before she even had a chance to process the thought it was gone.

And she was aware of that. She had changed so much in the past three years, since that day, the day of the accident. People had tried to convince her that she was doing it for herself, that changing was what she needed, but deep down she knew she was becoming this new perfect girl just to please her parents and friends. According to her Mother it was also to give her life a sense of purpose, as she so kindly informed her whilst she was still in the hospital.

And that was exactly what she had done; she had got out in a couple of months, quit all the good things she barely remembered; smoking, drinking and simply having fun with her closest friends. She had started really attending college lessons and going to the charity events to meet guys good enough for her family.

She had become what the society would have deemed a girl with a bright future, but the sad truth was that she would have gladly traded all that just for one simple thing, freedom.

She could easily stand boring events held in her back garden or Sunday mornings at church, she could get through an evening with Ray's colleagues that were practically the board of the company where she was working or a tea with her mum's friends but there was something she was desperately missing like she needed oxygen. The emptiness inside her was simply due to the fact she wasn't free to be who she wanted anymore, and it was slowly killing her from the inside out.

A day without showing the word what's inside you is like a living hell. 912 days of living a life which just made her feel fake, stupid and trapped. But people were so thrilled and proud of who she had become that she even liked herself sometimes, even if the truth was she barely recognized the girl who was standing in front of her.

"Santana?" Her thoughts were distracted by the far sound of Ray's voice calling her.

She rolled her eyes up to the sky, not because she couldn't stand him, but because she just wanted to be on her own for two freaking seconds and that was apparently an impossible wish.

Ray wasn't that bad, rich, eight years older than her, awesome (as her friends were constantly defining him), gentle and educated. On paper he was certainly the husband that all women would like to have and she couldn't complain at all, but was it real love? The passionate, all consuming feelings the books and movies talked about? Sure he was making her feel okay. But was _okay _enough?

Santana shook her head realizing she had been distracted again by her stupid brain, she snorted knowing that asking herself all of those questions was just useless and time-consuming since her future was already written.

"Coming!" She screamed.

"Here you are, babe." Ray said once she stepped into the big kitchen that he had personally designed. She was probably supposed to be happy or at least grateful to him for preparing her breakfast, but she didn't even notice the good morning smile he gave her when their eyes met.

"A breakfast fit for a queen." Ray exclaimed placing two hot pancakes on the plate in front of her and leaving Santana no choice but to hint a smile in order to make him understand that she appreciated the gesture.

"Thank you, Ray." She added to seem even more convincing.

"So, are you nervous about your meeting today?"

"My meeting?" Santana questioned.

"Yes, you know your monthly meeting."

"Ah, right." She said trying to hide from her boss the fact that she had absolutely no clue that she was supposed to attend a meeting today.

"Do you realize that it's almost June!?" He replied not really looking for an answer. "Life is passing by so fast."

Santana couldn't agree more to that last statement. Life was indeed passing too damn fast. One day she was a carefree, life-loving and individual person then the next day she had become what she had always hated. Her life was literally passing her by and it was like watching a movie, but there was only one tiny problem, it wasn't her movie.

"It is indeed." She agreed in an empty tone.

"And do you know what that means?"

Ray's words drew away Santana's attention from her breakfast and she looked to him with a questioning expression. She was clueless as to where he was going with this conversation.

_If he pronounces the word wedding, I'm going to faint._

"That summer is coming." He said probably thrilled to start surfing again. Santana snorted silently since she really wasn't getting the point of his excitement. They were living in California and that meant only one thing; summer was practically all year round. But he was probably referring to the fact that it was their first summer together as a couple and maybe that could be the cause of his excitement.

"Yeah, you're right, I Can't wait."

"I don't know if I'm ready to show you to my friends in your bikini though." Ray told her smiling and for just a second Santana's mood changed. The corner of her lips lifted trying to smile at those words. Was Ray really paying her a compliment about her body? Was he really jealous of her being half naked among his friends and colleagues?

She had no idea but she didn't want to waste the opportunity at a bit of light, flirting.

"Why not Ray, huh?" She replied quickly with a teasing tone.

He took a sip of orange juice and then he shook his head and gave her an insolent eye roll.

"'Cos darling, your tattoo." He paused for a second. "I mean." He stuttered.

Santana frowned already all too aware of the meaning of those expressions.

"It's not classy at all." She completed his sentence lowering her gaze to focus on the remaining part of the pancake since her first instinct had been to punch him.

"Don't get me wrong…but you have a big cross on your back. It's pretty noticeable." He tried to explain without seeming too rude and Santana could tell he was trying to not offend her but she actually didn't care.

A golf player, fond of art and opera couldn't be a tattoo lover after all.

"I know, but I can't do much about it." She replied shrugging already bored with the repetitive conversation.

"Have you ever thought of having it removed?"

"Ray, it is called tattoo for a reason. It's permanent." She said annoyed by the fact that her old tattoo was apparently such a big issue for her boyfriend. Eighty percent of the male population would find a cross tattooed on a girl's back sexy and not something to be removed.

Ray smiled and get closer to stare directly at her unreadable chocolate eyes along with her expressionless face.

"What if I tell you it is possible."

"I know with a very painful laser therapy. I know that, I'm not blonde."

"Hey, hey don't get mad and just listen. I've done some research and I've found a less invasive therapy. The cost is really high, but the results are excellent!"

"But I…" Santana was just about to argue once again since she had never really thought of having her old tattoo removed. She knew she had done it when she was young and naive, but it was the last remaining proof of who she used to be, something she could still hang on to. Every time she was starring at herself in the mirror, the sight of that faded symbol on her skin was something reassuring, it was the only thing left she had that reminded her of who she was or more importantly who she _used_ to be.

"So I've looked up on the internet and guess what I've found?" She gave him a bored uninterested look. "There's a place in the valley that performs this kind of treatment. It's about twenty minutes away from here."

"What kind of place?"

"It's a tattoo shop." He confirmed. "And from what I saw on their website it seemed like a professional and established business. Well for a tattoo shop that is."

"I don't know Ray. I'd prefer talking to a plastic surgeon." She said sighing and trying one last weak attempt to dissuade him. "People who work in those studios are usually really weird, plus they hate people like us."

"Oh come on darling. I've looked everywhere and I've read so many positive reviews Urban Ink is our best shot here."

"Urban Ink?"

"Come on, just give it a try." He said kissing her on the shoulder. "For me."

_Yes and then I'll become the perfect girl to marry._

"Ok fine." Santana replied. "I will hear out the owner see what he has to say but I can't promise anything." Ray beamed at those words knowing he had won, he loved nothing more than to win and he was also one step closer to having the perfect trophy wife. "That's awesome babe. I'll call the shop today to arrange an appointment!"

"I can do it myself!"

"No, you have your meeting today. I don't want to bother you when you're busy. I'll take care of everything." He affirmed before kissing her and leaving the kitchen humming some silly tune.

_11:30 am_

Noah Puckerman almost fell off his bike as he was approaching the sidewalk; he was in a fucking hurry.

"Hey man, watch out." A guy screamed as he passed right next to him without slowing down at all.

In a few seconds he finally arrived in front of the place where he was supposed to be 2 and half hours earlier. He readily jumped off his bike and tied it to the nearby bench.

He cleared his voice before making the first step towards the shop's entrance but he froze right in front of the door, noticing his feet were still covered in sand. Mentally cursing his stupid decision to go surfing for _just an hour_, he hastily wiped his feet and eventually made his way into the shop.

"I know I'm late." He announced as soon as he set foot through the door.

In that moment Brittany S. Pierce's attention was caught by the silhouette of her assistant arriving at her studio, almost running, dressed like he was about to go to the beach. She drew her gaze away from the drawing on her worktable and focused it on the guy and his dramatic entrance.

"Puck, I don't think they have invented a word that describes how late you are." She replied snorting with a teasing tone. She wasn't mad and Puck knew it, this was just their way of saying good morning.

"I know but the waves were amazing this morning."

"I bet." She said continuing to trace the outline of the carp she was drawing. "Are you aware that I'm supposed to punish you?"

"Oh, come on." Puck replied rolling his eyes at her.

"My grandma has a problem with her printer and she asked me to help her."

"Oh no please. That woman scares me to death."

"She just likes you, don't be an ass!"

"Last time you asked me to clean her pool she stared at my butt the whole time Brittany."

"Well, you always say you have this power over women." She replied mocking him once again.

"Ok, I'll do it. But this is the last time I'm doing your grandma a favor. "

"Well, stop being two hours late!"

Puck was clever enough not to even start a fake fight with her, since he knew how she was and he had absolutely no chance of winning.

"You should come with me sometime." He said trying to redirect the topic of their conversation.

"Where?" Brittany asked already glaring him

"Surfing, its fun and I can teach you."

"Hmm. As long as the only reason is so you get to see me in a swimsuit I'll have to decline." She said pretending to be polite. "I hate the beach."

"You chose to live in LA." He stated with a teasing tone.

"Have I told you that the toilets need cleaning?" she replied dismissively.

"That is an abuse of power." He said making her nod with a mischievous glint in her eye. "I can't believe you really hate the beach. It's all a person needs! You have sun, sea and hot girls."

"How poetic, but I may have to agree with you on the girls part."

"See. You're missing a lot of tiny bikinis."

"Do I have to remind you that I own a tattoo shop? Girls came here and pay me to mark even the most hidden parts of their bodies. I don't need to go to the beach."

"Yeah and it's better 'cos you'll probably try to steal my girl for sure."

At those words Brittany turned herself to look at him directly with an annoyed expression.

"Oh come on, it happened just once and that girl was clearly a lesbian!" She argued.

"No she wasn't!"

"Then can you explain to me the reason why she spent the following four days at my place?" Brittany replied with a smirk.

"Maybe she was a bitch."

The light moment was interrupted by the sound of a cell phone. Brittany lowered her gaze towards the table and noticed she had just received a text message. She opened it without too much thinking.

**From: Sugar**

Call me. ASAP!

Her eyes immediately rolled up to the ceiling. If that girl was telling her to contact her as soon as possible that could mean only one thing; she or her shop, were in some kind of legal trouble, _again._

Sugar, that was simply what everyone called her, was a lawyer, a good one at that and she occasionally helped her or her studio get out of trouble.

Brittany wasn't the type of person who liked to bond with people but sugar and Puck were her adopted family after all. That spoilt, sophisticated girl represented all that Brittany usually hated but somehow they had managed to become friends.

The two of them had met two years before at court. Brittany was there for some kind of law violation she didn't even remember where as Sugar was there to follow her first case as a newbie lawyer and they just happened to be sat on the same bench.

Sugar was a sweet girl and unbelievably rich, but despite this, Brittany respected her since the girl was a hard worker and had turned out to be really helpful on a couple of occasions.

But they were just friends, for countless reasons, firstly because Sugar was straight, but according to Brittany that wasn't a sufficient reason to prevent her from hitting on the girl, secondly they were real friends and even though Sugar could be sweet Brittany only saw her as a little sister.

She quickly dialed her number and called her.

"Do I have to run to Mexico?" Brittany asked as soon as she heard her friend answer.

"Tell me you love me."

"I do love you. You work for free."

"That's only because I don't want you to end up in jail. I'd miss you too much!" She paused and Brittany let escape a sweet giggle from her mouth.

"I've convinced Ryan Bradley to drop the charges against you."

"Bradley?" She asked convinced that name meant nothing to her.

"He was your customer last year. He was the one who asked for a certain drawing and you ended up doing a completely different one."

_Ah right, the tiger man._

"The tiger he wanted me to draw was probably one of the ugliest things I've ever seen. He should be thanking me, not suing me!" Brittany replied snorting while Puck was switching on their computer.

"He is the customer B, how many times do I have to explain that to you? He pays you for what he wants so the only thing you have to do is to smile and do exactly what he wants!"

"So, practically, you're asking me to be a prostitute." She said teasing her friend. "I have an artistic integrity!"

"Whatever! But just to remind you that this is the fifth time I have saved your skinny ass from an unsatisfied customer."

"And I don't know how to thank you!"

"You can arrange me a date with Puck" Sugar suggested for the umpteenth time this year.

"Well, you're certainly not his type." She said out loud rolling her eyes at her assistant to check if she had drawn his attention. "He tends to prefer girls that don't think or speak at all." She added with a knowing smirk.

Puck glared her and then carried on with what he was doing.

"I can stop being smart for those abs!"

"Well, if you want I can offer you your first lady sex experience!" Brittany suggested. She wasn't worried with that comment she knew Sugar wouldn't take offence. This was how they usually acted most of the time and plus flirting was just part of who she was.

"I'm flattered, but I have to decline."

"That's too bad for you." Brittany replied laughing. "Listen I've got to finish sketching a fish before the next customer arrives!"

"Ok, I'll stop by later but think about what I've told you. Urban ink is probably one of the most popular tattoo shops in the entire valley, you have to bite the bullet and start treating every customer kindly and with respect."

"Sugar, you're a lovely girl but people like you can be impossible to deal with. I can't stand their bullying attitudes and thinking they're better than everyone because they're rich and own a fucking Ferrari. That definitely does not give them the right to treat me like shit."

"I know, but it's your job. You've worked too hard to get where you are and earn the reputation you have, don't ruin it cos you're stubborn."

"Ok, I'll try to be nicer with them."

"Starting from today?"

Brittany sighed nodding. "Yes, I will." She agreed if only to placate her friend, before hanging up the phone. Maybe Sugar was right and she needed to stop being such a bitch to everyone, or at least to those spoilt people who entered her place thinking they were the kings of the earth.

Maybe she really needed to start thinking as a business woman and not as a person with a hostile attitude toward rich people. She was selling her ability to tattoo people after all and not her personality.

Brittany would have mulled over the moral issue about what was the correct way to treat her costumer and lead her business but she had a damn drawing to finish and she had only ten minutes before her nice Chinese customer arrived.

She was just about to start focusing again on the shading of fish scales when Puck's voice distracted her once again.

"Hey boss."

Brittany raised her head but didn't say anything.

"There's a man asking for the owner on the phone."

"What does he want?"

"He wants to arrange an appointment."

Brittany frowned confused. "Can't you just set it?"

But Puck shook his head giving her an _I've-already-tried-it _glance.

"He's begging to see you today."

"I'm busy until next month."

"I know, but he seems like the kind of guy who doesn't take no for an answer." He paused. "Can I just tell him to go and fuck himself?"

Brittany thought that a yes would have been the easier choice, but Sugar was right. She wouldn't have gotten anywhere if she had kept behaving like a sixteen year old girl.

"No, no, I'll handle it." Making Puck transfer the call to the phone on her desk.

"Hello?"

"Oh hello, I'm Ray Miller I've just spoken to your colleague. I would like to speak to the owner if it's possible." Making Brittany's eyes widen as she immediately recognized his name.

The Miller Spa, run by the young engineer Ray Miller, was probably the most important Energy Company in the state, but the real question was; what did an entrepreneur in the energy sector want with a tattoo studio?

"I'm the owner."

Brittany noticed a second of silence probably due to the fact that the man wasn't expecting her to be the boss.

_Good, a sexist._

"What can I do for you?" Brittany asked before she could change her mind and hang up the phone.

"I want to arrange a meeting to discuss the removal of a tattoo with the new laser technique you have recently added to your web site."

"Sure, I think I'll have a free spot in two weeks."

"Well, miss. I know you're probably busy and overworked but it took me so long to convince my girlfriend to even think about having her tattoo removed would it be possible for her to stop by later to discuss it?"

"I don't know. I've a pretty full schedule." Brittany argued but he continued unwavering.

"I can pay you, whatever you want." He added to try to be more convincing but all he got in return was an annoyed snort. She really couldn't stand those kinds of people whose solution to life's problems was to buy them.

Plus this man sounded so arrogant and she could already imagine how his trophy girlfriend would behave. Was she so dumb that she was unable to call herself and make an appointment?

"Sir, I'm not trying to be rude, but..." She said as politely as she could.

"I know and I don't want to push too much but it's really important to both of us."

"Oh I bet." Those words weren't supposed to escape from her mouth.

"What's that supposed to mean?" The man immediately replied.

"Nothing but if your girlfriend survived years with her tattoo I bet she can manage for another fortnight."

"Listen, I don't even care about your personal opinion but I am aware you're a business woman who cares a lot about the reputation of your studio and I happen to be a very influential man so let's treat this call as a deal. You agree to meet my sweet better half without arguing anymore and I can advertise your place among the people I know."

_Bastard._

"It seems more like a well-hidden threat to me."

"Oh no, trust me. You would notice the difference." Ray stated before bursting into a loud laugh that made her shiver for a second.

Brittany had to mentally scald herself for even considering it as a deal and even worse for taking it. But having a wealthy bastard sponsoring her studio wasn't that bad after all. Maybe being nice to just one big shark was a fair way to get access to that ugly world she had tried so hard to avoid.

"Before I can agree on anything I have to see the tattoo myself so that I can estimate how many sessions I'll need to remove it."

"I understand. That's why I'm asking for the meeting today."

"Are you going to let your girlfriend come here?" She said with a veiled sarcastic tone but the man chose to ignore her provocation.

"Yes, she can pass by right after work."

"Ok, I'll wait for her."

"I don't know how to thank you for this favor."

"You can start with not calling ever again." Brittany replied coldly.

"You're funny. I like that." Ray stated with a friendly tone now that he had achieved what he wanted.

"Thanks." Brittany replied unenthused before ending the conversation. As soon as she put down her phone she noticed Puck staring at her with a questioning disappointed look.

"What?"

"Joining the dark side, huh?"

"Oh shut up!" She said even if she couldn't erase the feeling of having just sold a piece of her dignity.

_06:00 pm_

Santana parked her Audi R8 half a block away from the address that Ray had sent her earlier that day. She didn't want to be seen in that fancy car. Ray had texted her that it had been tough to obtain that meeting but eventually he was able to get her seen to. She was already terrified about what those people would have thought about her. Would the _guy _that owned the shop hate her? Would _he_ judge her as soon as _he _laid eyes on her?

She had a bad feeling about the whole thing, first because she wasn't sure about it at all and secondly because she felt like she had definitely quit fighting against everything that was happening to her.

But Santana had also recently given up thinking or mulling over things too much and that was why she opened the car door and stepped outside. Taking a deep breath she was ready to walk into a world far away from the safe one she was currently living in.

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**Hope you liked this first chapter.**

**Give me some feedbacks so that i can understand if it's something that can be interesting for you!**


	2. Chapter 2

_April 22 _

_06:00 pm_

There are always moments in your life when you get that gut feeling that something unexpected is just about to happen. That was exactly how Santana felt during her walk towards Urban Ink.

She was certain of two things, number one she didn't want to be there and number two she _really _didn't want to be there.

She could always turn around, go back to her car and forget about it but, she simply didn't have the luxury of making her own decisions anymore. Even if that was true, part of her brain was still trying to get her to leave and each step was becoming increasingly more difficult, but unfortunately as unappealing as this tattoo shop and the people she expected to find there seemed, it was still more appealing than having to try to discuss with Ray why she didn't go.

She had never been a submissive person, but Ray had a power over her, she couldn't even explain it to herself but she was constantly living with the fear of not being good enough and disappointing him.

The distance between her designer shoes and the Urban Ink's doormat was shrinking and she was slowing each step as she was hoping for something to happen that would prevent her from going into that place.

But, as she had learnt to accept, life didn't seem to want to do her any favors.

Once she was right in front of the main door she couldn't help but peek inside the shop, to check it out before opening the door and letting herself enter into their weird world.

She quickly roamed her eyes around and noticed how professional and well organized the place was, that was her first thought. Whilst she continued to scan the shop her second thought wasn't as positive, she seriously believed that these people belonged to some kind of circus.

Her entrance immediately drew the attention of the four strange looking people sat on the waiting bench in front of her, they were staring at her probably wondering if she was lost as she stood out like a sore thumb.

A cute good looking guy, who she guessed was probably supposed to be the receptionist, was standing right behind the entrance desk, juggling with what seemed to be two apples. After a couple of seconds the guy finally noticed her, she was standing still waiting for him to do something and with a sudden movement he threw one of the apples at her.

Santana was surprised but still managed to instinctively catch the fruit while offering him a look of surprise in return.

"Hey gorgeous, what can I do for you?" He asked clearly staring at her breasts.

Santana immediately was overcome by a sense of embarrassment and discomfort.

_What the hell am I doing here?_

"I...I…" she stuttered something before clearing her voice loudly to try to gain some semblance of control. "I'm Santana Lopez, I think I have a meeting with the owner." She said this time hoping to be more convincing but she really wasn't sure if the guy was actually listening to her or still having a staring contest with her boobs. She wanted so badly to snap her fingers in front of his distant face and tell him to look a couple of inches higher but she managed to bite her tongue and remain calm.

She had promised Ray that she would go to the tattoo shop to hold a meeting with the manager and that was it, she was already one hundred percent sure of the fact that this was the last time she would ever be stepping into the Urban Ink.

Surprisingly the guy managed to process her words and nodded, this time looking at her directly in the eyes.

"Oh yes, your fiancé called earlier." He replied affirmatively.

For a moment Santana had the urge to confess to the stranger that Ray wasn't technically her fiancé, yet. But she bit her tongue and offered him a polite smile instead.

"Yes, I came as soon as I could." She added trying to make a positive impression on him but the guy didn't seem to care.

"The boss is actually busy doing something in the private studio." The guy explained.

At that point Santana made a step forward and took notice of how the guy was dressed. He was wearing shorts, flip-flops and a creased tank top and it was like his style perfectly reflected his personality.

"Can you call him please?" Santana asked.

"Oh no, I do not disturb the sleeping dog, you'll have to take yourself I'm afraid."

Those words were able to upset her even more than she already was. Ray had told her that Urban Ink seemed to be a very professional place but he couldn't have been more wrong. The receptionist was a combination of a sleaze and a surfer, she also got the impression he was high and it seemed the boss didn't want to do any work even though there was a queue of customers.

She could have argued with her usual fierceness but she really didn't have the energy, all she wanted was to go home, take a bath and wash away the day. But of course things were never that easy as there was a damn tattooist preventing that from that happening.

"Ok, where do I go?" She questioned.

"Perfect, go right down the hall." The guy directed her pointing at the corridor on his right. "Oh the name's Puck by the way."

Santana didn't respond and started walking down a corridor that seemed to resemble some type of art gallery, there were numerous photographs showing different types of tattoos scattered all over the walls. Each step Santana took had her more surprised and wondering if they were actually original drawings.

Right at the end of the narrow corridor she came to a closed door that was separating her from the man she was so scared to meet, sighing she tried to gather up some courage.

_Come on, five minutes and you're out._

She knocked choosing to ignore the sign asking, _are you really sure?_ She waited for a couple of seconds but all she got was silence. She placed the hand on the door handle and with her heart hammering against her ribcage she opened the door.

Her mind was surprised again for the third time in the past fifteen minutes, the private studio wasn't as bad as she expected, well as far as tattoo shops go. Right in front of her, there was a big dark wooden designer desk with a computer with all kinds of technological gadgets surrounding it, while on her left side there was a surgical bed, not the cheap hospital type but the super expensive kind you would expect to find in a top professionals office.

Her brain was still busy processing all the new information that Santana didn't even notice that a blonde girl was sitting at the desk. She froze as soon she realized that the girl was staring at her with a questioning expression.

_At least the owner has a secretary._

She thought as her facial muscles began to relax at the sight of what seemed to be a normal human being.

"Hi, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you but I've got a meeting with the owner." She explained hoping for some kind of reaction but all she got was a raised eyebrow waiting for her to continue.

"Can you just call him?"

"Excuse me?" The girl replied narrowing her eyes at her and Santana immediately felt an icy chill run down her back causing an involuntary shiver.

She didn't say anything since the awkwardness of the moment seemed to have reached a new high.

"Do you think I'm his secretary?" The girl asked with a sly grin.

"Oh I'm sorry, are you his girlfriend?" Santana asked even more embarrassed.

"I am the owner." The girl stated bluntly, making Santana's blood rush quickly up to her face.

Wait, was she really the owner of this place? She seemed to be so young, plus she was a girl and a tattooist.

"Oh I'm so sorry." Santana tried not to stutter. "I'm Santana Lopez."

"Oh yes. My deal." The girl commented lowering her gaze.

_Deal? What was she talking about?_

"I'm actually surprised your boyfriend let you come here all by yourself." The blonde added and in that moment Santana was absolutely certain it won't be a pleasant meeting.

_Come on, five more minutes._

"He's very protective." She replied shrugging and taking a seat on the chair in front of the blunt girl even if she hadn't invited her to sit down.

When she lifted her gaze, she managed to get a closer look at the person who was sitting right in front of her.

Despite the fact she already hated the girl, she couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. Not that she cared about that, but it was simply a fact. The angelic features of her face, her blond hair that was reflecting beautifully the artificial light in the room and those wonderful blue eyes so soft and innocent they definitely didn't seem to match the rest of her persona.

Santana silently snorted as she lowered her gaze on the white shirt that the girl was wearing. It had a black writing that said _Armageddon was yesterday. Today we have a serious problem. _But that wasn't what really surprised Santana, the girl's body seemed to be telling a story with tattoos, she found herself wanting to know how the story would unfold.

"I bet." The girl commented with a sarcastic tone. "Anyways, I don't want to waste your time, I'm Brittany S. Pierce and as I hope you now understand I am the owner of this shop, so let's talk about the reason why you're here." she said almost in one breath looking directly at her. Santana didn't know why but the way that girl was staring at her, made her feel like her icy blue eyes were penetrating right into her soul making her feel exposed.

"Ray told me that you've recently started using a new laser technique for removing tattoos." Santana started hoping for Brittany to step in but all she got was another not interested look. "So I just wanted to know more about it." she added slightly shrugging her shoulders.

Brittany nodded, looking down. "Well, it's simple. It costs a lot, which means that it's a good way of earning money."

Santana's jaw immediately dropped. Was this really her way of selling her product? If that was how professional the girl was, Santana wondered how the place was still open.

"Oh, so..." Santana tried to say something, even though she was completely confused about what was the best way to approach this situation, but Brittany didn't let her. She suddenly rose up from her chair clapping her hands once, to draw her attention. Santana jolted, a little bit worried.

"Ok, listen…" she said looking at her, but after those two first words she stopped frowning. "…what's your name again?"

Santana's first instinct was to jump over the table and punch her, but she took a deep breath quickly counting up to three.

"It's Santana."

"Ok, so _Santana_ listen…" she said again, this time putting particular emphasis in the pronunciation of her name. "I don't want to waste your precious time. I don't want to waste my time either with a scared refined girl whose only aim is to have her tattoo removed so that she can become the perfect trophy wife and be paraded around at pool parties."

Santana couldn't believe what she was hearing. That was without a doubt the first time the owner of a shop, where she wanted to invest money, had actually dared to insult her like that. She immediately felt a knot form in her stomach and her heart accelerate even more along with the previous blush returning full force spreading from her neck to her hairline. She opened her mouth to reply but the other girl was faster and kept on speaking.

"So I'm going to be quick. Am I your best shot to remove your tattoo? Yes without a doubt. Is it going to be painful? Yes, but I've had no deaths yet. Is it going to be expensive? Hell, yes. But from the Audi key ring sticking out of your pocket, I don't think money is going to be a problem."

Santana shook her head unwilling to believe that she was actually allowing a random human being to treat her like that.

"If you excuse me for a sec, I'm going to get a price catalogue so that you can decide if you're interested or not." Brittany said while already walking out of the room leaving her there completely dazed.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Puck asked as he saw Brittany popping out of the corridor.

"Getting the price catalogues." She cut shortly with a blank tone.

"We don't have catalogues."

"I know."

"Is it going that bad?" Puck asked motioning toward the corridor with a slight movement of the head.

At that question Brittany stopped rummaging in the drawer of the desk and rolled her eyes at him.

"You have no idea." She said out loud. "That girl is even worse than I was expecting."

Puck smirked, she has a great ass."

"I haven't had the time to notice it! It's like talking to a living ghost, she is everything I have always hated embodied into one person. You have to see her all dressed up like a business woman and then there is this sad nostalgic shadow in her eyes. I don't know, I thought I could do it but now I'm not sure anymore."

"With a body like that she can't be that bad." Puck added once again.

"Yeah, but I'm already bored and the idea of spending a month or two with a person with zero personality at all makes me sick and…"

She trailed off because in that moment their attention was drawn by the sound that what was coming from Puck's computer where the images of the security camera installed in Brittany's studio were playing.

On the twenty-two inch screen there was Santana Lopez now standing still in the middle of her studio.

Both Brittany and Puck didn't say anything, their eyes glued to the monitor.

"Who the hell does she think she is?" Santana said out loud. "Just because she is all tattooed and badass doesn't give her the right to be a bitch! I knew that coming here was a terrible mistake, damn Ray!" Santana Lopez added while pacing in circles.

Brittany was still staring at those images playing on the computer, with a hint of a smile on her face.

"Hi my name is Brittany S. Pierce and I'm the ultimate bitch. God! I'm the client, she is supposed to do what I want, what I demand and instead what do I get? Her insulting me, she doesn't know anything about me! Good job Santana, really, now is definitely the time to get out of here." She finished.

"Erm, should we tell her that we can see her?" Puck said while he was looking for the speaker button to communicate with Brittany's studio, but the tattooist stopped him.

"Not yet." She said with a smirk and then she started walking again towards her studio, but this time with a different approach.

As the last word was practically shouted out of her mouth Santana froze and rolled her eyes at the door hoping nobody had heard or even worse Brittany. She quickly sat again and cleared her throat trying to calm down.

_Come on, resist. You won't see her, ever again._

A couple of seconds later the door of the studio opened again and Santana immediately felt a shiver run down her spine, she didn't even need to turn to check if Brittany had just stepped into the room, she could feel her presence.

"I'm sorry, I forgot that we don't have any catalogues here." She said letting herself fall into her chair again.

"It's okay." Santana replied. "I still have to think about it so, maybe I'll call you later."

Brittany shook her head lowering her gaze. She waited a couple of seconds before speaking again, making Santana feel uncomfortable again.

"Listen, maybe we started out on the wrong foot." The girl said. "So, hello I am Brittany S. Pierce and I'm the owner of this place. How can I help you?"

Santana frowned completely confused on what was really going on. Was she bipolar or something?

"Erm, hello?" she replied back even though all she wanted in that moment was to run away from this weird situation.

_Wait is she serious?_

"I, I came here because I would like to have my tattoo removed." Santana stuttered. "And, I would like to know more about your new laser therapy technique."

Brittany nodded, still holding her steady gaze. It was incredible how uncomfortable those blue eyes made her.

"Sure, I'll briefly explain to you what this is about. This new technique is called "Fade Away Method" and it uses one of the most modern lasers on the market and it differs from the original one because of its less damaging effects on the skin. This technique consists of the penetration and breakup of the ink that was injected into your skin. The ink and skin is broken up by the laser and the skin eventually peels away taking the tattoo with it. The common laser treatment takes an average of 2 years to remove a tattoo and even then the process is not fully guaranteed to work. However the "Fade Away Method" has excellent results and it usually only needs a few sessions." Brittany finished explaining and for the first time Santana had the feeling that that girl knew what she was talking about.

"I understand."

"But I have to warn you, like every new therapy it has some negative aspects."

"Like what?"

"It is really expensive, as I told you before and it's a little bit painful because it's still laser treatment on your skin after all."

She wanted to answer that money wouldn't be a problem but she thought better of it.

"How many sessions do you think I'd need?" Santana asked.

"For that" she said pointing at her waist, rolling finger in the air. "I need to see the artwork."

Santana nodded awkwardly feeling stupid for having just been caught blushing.

"Ok, sure."

"Ok, show me." Brittany said while stepping right in front of her.

Santana lowered her gaze trying to hide the fact that her blood continued to blush her cheeks.

"It's on my back." She said, trying to communicate to her she that she had no idea how to show it to her, since she was wearing a tight fitting red dress. She was expecting Brittany to step outside of her studio and let her undress herself but again, she was wrong.

"Oh, it's no problem. Stand up and turn."

Santana eyes widened and without thinking she simply obeyed. The palms of her hands started sweating as the situation continued to intimidate her. She stood up and Brittany slowly made a step forward, Santana swallowed thickly as she realized how close the girl was and that was definitely making her feel even more uncomfortable.

She turned quickly in order to be out of Brittany's vision those eyes, were something not to be messed with.

She instinctively leaned forward just a little bit.

"Uh, Puck was right." Brittany commented with what seemed to be a teasing tone.

Santana didn't know what the girl was talking about and she rapidly lifted her left hand to open her dress but Brittany stopped her pulling it down with a soft movement.

"Don't worry, I've got this." She said while gently gripping the zip of her dress.

A shudder ran down her spine following the exact trail Brittany was making with the zip. She suddenly realized that she was in a tattoo studio, in a room, alone with the weirdest person she had met in years and said person was undressing her.

With a gentle movement Brittany opened the two parts of the dress to uncover the tattoo.

Santana held her breath as she felt the hand of the tattooist brushing her inked skin.

"Mmm, wow. " Brittany commented.

"I know it's pretty impressive." Santana commented.

"Yes it is, but I'm not talking about the tattoo." The girl said.

_What was that supposed to mean?_

"The tattoo is a mess. The ink is faded and the edges are not well defined at all." She commented closing the dress zip and stepping away from her, letting Santana breath again.

"From what I've seen I think that twelve sessions should be enough to remove the tattoo. But it's always better to monitor the situation after each session."

"Oh ok, I guess I have to think about it. It is a big commitment."

"It sure is."

Santana was about to stand up and finally get the hell out of that place but Brittany stopped her with her words.

"Hey, just one more thing" she said catching her attention "before you can make any kind of decision you have to know something about me. First I don't get the reason why a person would want to erase a part of her life, so I'm totally against the fact that you're thinking about having your tattoo removed, second I'm not exactly what the world would define _a normal person,_ I'm always doing or saying what I feel like doing and I won't apologize for that. Plus I'm a lesbian and I know that probably disrupts you and your perfect fantasy world you're living in, but I thought you should know this before you pay me for working on your back for the next three months."

She was absolutely shocked again she had lost track of how many times that had happened to her this past hour. It was incredible, people didn't usually surprise her. Well, the word _surprise_ didn't usually apply to any part of her life. But she had to be honest with herself, nothing this girl was saying or doing was normal, politically correct or expected and she was somehow drawn to that.

"Are you trying to scare me?" Santana asked.

"I'm just being honest. You have to be informed of everything before you buy. It is true that I'm your best choice and you should be aware of the fact that I'm the only one who's performing this new method in California, so once you sign up with me you'll be stuck with me."

"So you're practically saying that the price to pay for needing Brittany S. Pierce is to actually have to spend time with Brittany S. Pierce?" Santana said but this time her tone had changed, there was a teasing hint in it. What was she doing? But what was more concerning was why was she finding all of this exciting?

"Hey, you're the customer. The decision is yours now." She said taking a pen from a skull shaped holder. Santana's eyes instinctively followed Brittany's movements. "I'm just writing some basic information and my personal contact details."

But Santana's mind was already elsewhere trying to understand what the girl had tattooed on her wrist. It seemed to be some kind of writing, but the font was too small to be read from that distance.

"There is no dark side of the moon really, matter of fact it's all dark." Brittany commented almost in a whisper while she was still writing.

"W-what?"

"That's what my tattoo says." Brittany stated making Santana immediately blush for having been caught staring.

"Oh I- I wasn't…" she stuttered. "…cool quote." She mumbled in defeat.

"It's from the song Eclipse." She paused for a second to check her reaction. "Pink Floyd?"

"Sure, love them." Santana quickly replied even though the truth was that she had never listened to any of their songs.

"Wow, Barbie. I thought you were more a Taylor Swift fan." Santana immediately blushed.

_What's wrong with Taylor?_

"And, w-what does it mean? It's pretty sad." She commented shrugging.

"Are we friends?" Brittany quickly replied snorting.

"Relax, I was just asking." Santana said again this time with an innocent tone.

"Fine." Brittany agreed rolling her eyes up to the ceiling. "The sentence that follows this one is _the only thing that makes it look light is the Sun_." she paused.

"Well, I'm still waiting for the sun." Brittany added while handing Santana the piece of paper.

That was actually a nice thought.

"Anyway, call me when you've decided something."

April 23

_01:00 pm_

"Puck, are you really sure?" Brittany asked while she was applying the disinfectant gel to his left pectoral.

"Hell yes!"

"This is the fifth time I've tattooed you in the past two months. Don't you think it's a little bit extreme?" Brittany insisted looking down at him smiling.

He rose up on his elbow to get closer to Brittany who was sitting in the chair next to the tattoo bed.

"Tattoos are cool, girls love them and I happen to work for the best tattooist in town, so."

"You're crazy." She commented while sticking on his naked skin the drawing of a wolf.

"Are you going to pay me this time?" she added with a laugh since she was already aware that the answer was negative, but it was ok since she really didn't need her friend to pay her.

"No as usual." He replied giving her his customary innocent look.

"Ok, let's get it started." Brittany announced clicking on the iPod. She took her precious 'Dragonfly Style Injection Molding Rotary Shader' tattoo machine and dipped its tip in the black ink, then like usual every time she was about to mark a person for the rest of their life, she took a quick look at the drawing she was about to make to try to memorize it and she started.

Puck was an easy customer, he was used to getting a tattoo and so he was not scared, he lies down on the bed humming while she does her job.

After having inked the outline, she lifted her foot from the pedal that was controlling the needle gun, put it down and took a sip of beer from the bottle on the table next to her.

"Hey, you're not supposed to drink. You're on duty."

"Shut up." Brittany replied. Drinking while tattooing wasn't what she usually did, but it was Sunday and the studio was closed. This was just having fun with a friend, not working.

"You know, most of the people go to the beach on Sunday, instead I'm here tattooing you."

"What can I say, you're life is better than other people's!" Puck commented with another smirk.

"Ass."

"So, did Santana Lopez call?" he started while she was starting tattooing him again.

"Nope." She replied.

"Too bad."

"Why? It's one less problem for us."

"Yeah but she is so hot!" Puck commented shaking his head.

"She has a boyfriend."

"I'm not jealous."

"Puck, that girl is currently dating the CEO of the Miller Industries, she wouldn't even take you into account to be her valet." She replied snorting at the thought of that girl.

"I know but she has such a great ass."

Brittany waited for a second before lowering her gaze smiling.

"You are right though."

As they both start laughing at each other.

"I love you Britt, everyone deserves to have a best friend like you. "

She looked at him waiting for him to explain what he had just said.

"What? You gave me a job, you tattoo me for free, we talk about other girls asses and you have amazing boobs." He added still chuckling.

"Stay still or I'll make a mess!" Brittany yelled at him with a friendly tone, but in that moment they were both were distracted by the sound of the door of the shop opening.

"Hey guys, look who I've found." Sugar announced stepping in.

Brittany turned herself to check what that girl was saying and she almost let the tattoo gun fall.

"Hey Barbie, what are you doing here?"

She asked looking directly at Santana Lopez standing still a few steps away from her.

* * *

**Thank you for the feedbacks so far.**

**Hope you like it:)**


	3. Chapter 3

_April 23 _

_01:15 pm_

The twenty-two year old version of Santana Lopez was feisty, proud and certainly not submissive. That version of her was so much better than the current version. She would never give up, she would never bow down and she most definitely would never let anyone take advantage of her. Twenty-two year old Santa was a force to be reckoned with. But that was a long time ago, a lot had changed in those three years, everything in her life was now, quiet, monotonous and quite frankly boring. But she is forced to live with this version of herself even if it isn't who she really wants to be.

At present though twenty-five year old Santana Lopez found the courage to lift her glance from the ground and slowly rolled her eyes at the blonde girl sitting at a tattoo table across the room. But as soon as she met those incredibly mesmerizing blue eyes, she couldn't help but waver suddenly feeling dizzy. It was incredible how that steely gaze was able to bore through her chest, straight to her heart leaving her feeling exceptionally vulnerable and exposed.

She couldn't hold the weight of that look, feeling her blush rising, left her with no other choice than to lower her gaze again to try to hide her embarrassment.

Brittany's words echoed in her mind, shaking her perfect world once again.

_Hey Barbie._

The way the blonde girl pronounced that nickname, just to mock her, was annoying her so much, provoking a hot flush of anger to rise from her stomach.

And there, after three years of lying dormant, twenty-two year old Santana Lopez came out for just a second.

"Could you just stop calling me _Barbie_? I'm not even blonde!" she said in one exasperated breath, without thinking but as soon as the last syllable escaped her mouth she immediately realized her mistake.

_Oh, crap._

Brittany hinted a smile and for a second Santana could swear that she had left the reckless girl speechless, but that sensation didn't last long.

"What are you doing here, _Barbie?_" she repeated putting particular emphasis on _Barbie_ backed up with a sly smirk. Santana's blood rushed again up to her cheeks, thanks to a sudden acceleration of her heart rate.

"I, I-I was in the neighborhood and I thought I would come here and check if you were here, I-I need to talk to you about my decision." She explained stuttering and cursing herself at the same time for coming across a complete mess. That wasn't who she was at all, but the presence of said blonde in the room was making her nervous and uncertain.

Of course she wasn't in the neighborhood but she wasn't going to admit that she had woken up that morning and the first thing she had thought about was her meeting, or to be more accurate her _fight_ with Brittany the day before. Ray was going to the golf club for a quick session with his colleagues and she had told him that she really needed to catch up on some work, but as soon as her boyfriend had stepped outside her mind started thinking about the blonde tattooist once again. She simply couldn't push her out of her mind and despite how much that girl had annoyed her the day before she was dying to see her again. She couldn't explain it to herself where this irrational need had come from, but for once she let her heart lead the way.

So here she was blushing and lying to said girl.

Brittany grinned again and every time she did Santana couldn't help but wonder if that was another way of teasing her.

_Stop being so scared, please._

What the hell was wrong with her? Why was she being so timid and uneasy?

"Ok, since you were in the neighborhood" she said with a teasing tone. "Just give me a couple more minutes I've got to finish this." She said rolling her eyes at Puck's chest.

"Oh yes absolutely no problem." Santana answered. "I'll wait outside."

"You can stay and watch if you like."

Santana didn't understand the reason why she blushed again, that sentence wasn't implying anything. So she chose to just take a seat a few inches away from the tattoo bed where Brittany's assistant was laying.

"Hey you" Puck said smiling at her and trying to roll on his right side to speak with her, but Brittany pulled him back.

"Stay still, ass."

"Hey Puck" Santana replied quickly while the other girl, Sugar just sat right next to her seemingly making herself comfortable seen as when Santana checked what she was doing she had pulled out a fashion magazine from her extravagant Chanel bag and started reading. How was it even possible that a girl like that, who was probably wearing 1500 dollar shoes, was in this shop, reading a magazine and completely at ease?

"Sugar what are _you_ doing here?" Brittany asked while wiping away the ink residues from Puck's skin with tissue.

"Oh nothing I was bored at home." She replied winking at her and then rolling her eyes at the guy.

Brittany smiled shaking her head, understanding what Sugar was hinting at.

Then her face changed to one of pure concentration completely focused on the task at hand. She dipped the tip of the tattoo gun in a little bottle of black ink and pressed her foot on the pedal next to her chair.

Santana felt like she was trapped in her own bubble, rigid and unmoving all she could see was Brittany as she tattooed Pucks chest.

She had never been interested in other people, or what they were doing. Well, she couldn't deny that once in a while, maybe when she was at the gym or playing tennis her attention was drawn to a hot guy passing by, or training right next to her, but that was just part of being human. It was simple appreciation, meaningless attraction and it usually only lasted a couple of seconds. She had never fantasized about anyone or even looked in somebody else's direction since she had started dating Ray and that was supposed to be a good thing but somehow she wasn't that happy about it. Ray was probably the perfect man on paper, but what if perfection wasn't what she needed? Was that the real reason why she had ended up in a tattoo studio on a mundane Sunday morning?

She didn't know the answers to any of those questions but something's were simply undeniable. She couldn't stop staring at the tattooist, so focused whilst working on her friend. Usually she was supposed to be staring at the guy's amazing abs or at his full lips but instead all she could do was gaze at Brittany's expression.

Her heart was still beating faster than the regular rhythm and if summer wasn't almost here, she would have been sure that someone had turned on the heater.

Brittany was completely focused on what she was doing and everything about that image was absolutely flawless. The way she was frowning, squinting slightly to concentrate her incredible blue eyes, on the lines she was drawing was just adorable. But there was more, Santana couldn't stop looking at her mouth.

Everyone has their own tics, their own way of easing the tension and usually they are funny or clumsy things but the way Brittany was focusing on Puck's tattoo was causing her breathing problems.

Eyes glued to the piece of skin she was marking, steady hand on the drawing, the only thing she could play with was her lips. She was continuously biting her lower lip, sometimes with short, quick bites sometimes chewing it and it was hypnotizing Santana.

Santana's heart skipped a beat when the blonde girl slightly opened her mouth just enough to let her tongue out even if it was something to be expected by a fully tattooed girl, the fact that she had a tongue piercing immediately sent Goosebumps down her spine. Brittany slowly brushed her upper lip with the tip of her tongue making Santana gulp while a warm sensation was slowly spreading throughout her body.

_What the hell?_

Was she really turned on by that? Wasn't it wrong and impossible since Brittany was actually a woman?

Santana had no clue what was happening to her, the only thing she knew was that her mouth was watering as the girl playfully biting her piercing. How was it even possible that she was finding all of this unbelievably sexy?

"It's pretty impressive huh?"

Her thoughts were finally shaken by Sugar's words. She immediately blushed, afraid of being caught staring at Brittany's lips.

"W-what?"

"The way she is doing that" Sugar explained nodding at the tattoo with a slight movement of her head. "She really is remarkable, isn't she?"

_Oh, she is._

"Yes, it's really impressive." Santana replied even though she was only now noticing how beautiful the wolf drawing was, that had slowly began to appear on Puck's skin. Brittany was indeed talented she had done that in less than twenty minutes.

A slight _oh_ escaped her mouth and she immediately lifted her gaze to check if Brittany had heard it, but luckily she was still focused on cleaning Puck's skin.

"Ok _genius,_ my work here it's done. I'll finish the shades tomorrow after work, ok?"

Puck nodded smiling and immediately got up to check the new artwork at the mirror.

"Wow, B."

"I know" Brittany replied with a smirk. "Oh, and don't be an ass this time." She added with a firm tone making Santana wonder what she was talking about, but the answer arrived a few seconds later.

"Got it no surfing." he stated.

"Hey Sugar, want to grab a coffee?" he proposed wanting to leave the two of them alone to talk.

Santana could tell Sugar was clearly into him as she immediately stood up beaming like a smitten teenager.

"Sure! Let's go."

"B, you want something?"

Brittany shook her head pointing at the beer.

"I'm fine."

Puck rolled his eyes at her but Santana kindly smiled and said "I'm fine." She stood up and followed the couple with her eyes as they left walking down the street. As soon as they were out of sight she turned, looking for Brittany but she almost jumped when she found her standing right in front of her.

Brittany was clearly invading her personal space and was definitely standing way too close for comfort, causing the all too familiar effect of light headedness.

_Why the hell does she have to look at me like that?_

Feeling again the weight of Brittany's eyes on her and _again_ she still couldn't hold her gaze.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Brittany asked still confidently staring at her.

Santana immediately took a step back to try to gain back some control. Having her that close was clouding her brain and making thinking that much more difficult.

_I've come here to see you._

"I, I came here to tell you my answer with regards to removing my tattoo." She managed to say in one breath even though that wasn't the truth at all.

Brittany smiled the usual teasing smirk and looked at her with the expression _and-what-is-that?_

"I want you." But as soon as Santana uttered those words she looked away nervously, but she still couldn't hide the red glow that came over her face.

"Wow _Barbie,_ I'm flattered." Brittany replied teasing.

"No I didn't mean I want you 'cause I want you I just" but then luckily her brain managed to stop sending electrical impulses to her mouth and she stopped talking afraid of looking up.

Why the hell everything was so damn difficult around her? No one ever had the ability of making her feel so, nervous and shy as Brittany could.

"Hey, what are you thinking?" Brittany insisted probably entertained by her nervous breakdown.

"That I should do myself a favor and stop speaking." Santana managed to reply, finally with a light tone that made Brittany smile.

"Are you always this nervous?"

Why the hell was she always so direct with her? Maybe coming back here wasn't the smartest thing she could have done. Santana had the impulse to answer and tell Brittany she was the reason why she was nervous but she managed to control herself once again and replied with a quiet _no._

"So, do you want me to remove your tattoo?"

"I do."

"Have you really thought about it?"

"I have." She continued, even though the right answer was in fact a resounding no, but since Ray wanted it so badly she was willing to agree and on the plus side she got see more of the enigma that is Brittany. "Well, I guess we'll be spending some time together then!"

"I guess." Santana replied.

"Ok, we can start next week but if you want to postpone a little bit it's still fine for me."

"No! no, next week is perfect." She answered a little too quickly, again causing a sensation of embarrassment to take over her.

_April 28_

_06:00 pm _

One week, actually five and a half days to be precise, had passed since she had been at Urban Ink and incredibly the whole time all she had been thinking about was Brittany, maybe a little too much.

She had even Googled her one night when Ray was already asleep. But every time she caught herself thinking about her she inwardly scalded herself since it wasn't normal or what was she was used to.

Brittany was probably one of the most arrogant and rude person she had ever met and despite that, Santana simply couldn't do much to stop the image of blonde hair and tattoos marked on soft skin from crossing her mind every two seconds.

On one side she was actually really excited to see her again but, on the other hand she was still scared and uncomfortable at the thought of spending some time alone with Brittany. Considering the effects she seems to have on her whenever they are within close proximity of each other.

In any case she had no more time to mull over it since she was sitting in Brittany's waiting room or more of a bench next to Puck's desk.

Puck had said hello in his usual way by hitting on Santana.

So she just took her Ipad out of her bag to pretend to be busy doing something in order to make the guy stop talking to her.

Brittany was twenty minutes late, and she had already worked all day. The only thing she wanted in that moment was to be at home relaxing on her couch, but instead here she was, sitting and waiting for the girl that had recently occupied all her thoughts. She was shaken from those thoughts by the one and only thought stealer in the flesh.

"Santana?"

She readily stood up, turned to say hello to her.

"Hi."

She was even more beautiful than she remembered and the fact that Brittany was wearing a pair of jean shorts immediately caught her attention. She asked herself the reason why she was so interested in a pair of female legs, but those legs were smooth, toned and seemed to go on forever.

"Ready?"

No.

"Yes." She lied anyway.

Brittany led her into her studio, holding the door open for her. Santana quickened her pace and stepped into the private room, smiling since that was probably the first nice gesture that girl had shown towards her.

"Ok, take your shirt off and lie on your stomach" she said getting straight to business, tapping her hand on the bed which she wanted Santana to lie down on.

Santana immediately blushed, she was definitely no stranger to having to strip down to her underwear she did it regularly at the gym in front of other women but why did Brittany make her so uncomfortable?

"Ok." She replied in a whisper, turning to try to hide her embarrassment while she was undressing herself. The fact that she could feel Brittany's gaze on her, was making the whole thing even more difficult.

Santana did everything so quickly with her eyes still glued to the floor, she jumped onto the bed where she finally felt a bit more comfortable.

Her heart was already beating so fast, not because she was about to experience a probably painful laser treatment, but because she was exposed in front of Brittany. Her heart slowed down for a moment when she realized that Brittany was setting up the laser machine and not paying attention to her.

"Ok, just to let you know what it is going to happen now" she said while checking some parameters on the touch screen in front of her. "This first laser session is always the worst one, 'cause the skin is not used to it so it will probably burn a little bit."

"Oh ok." Santana replied but she wasn't really scared of the pain, she was a tough girl after all. "I'm sure I can handle it."

"Ok, wonder woman." She smirked at her. "Anyway, I'm still going to put some anesthetizing gel on the part of skin we are going to treat today, in order to help you a little bit." She added taking out of a drawer a little tube of gel.

Santana instinctively relaxed on the bed and for a moment closed her eyes, but as soon as she felt Brittany's cold hand on her skin she couldn't help but stiffen. She wasn't expecting her touch to be so delicate and gentle. Brittany, to spread the gel equally, softly massaged the inked part of flesh, making her skin tingle under the slightly cold pressure.

An almost undetectable moan escaped from her lips, even though she tried to push it back down.

"Ok, are you sure?"

"W-what?"

"I'm getting started Barbie, are you really sure you want to remove it?" Brittany paused for a second but Santana couldn't answer her question. She wasn't sure about anything anymore.

"I'm asking you 'cause it's always a big step to have something meaningful you have had for a while removed."

"Yes, I am sure."

"Good." She replied but Santana noticed an almost disappointed tone in her voice. "It will burn a little."

She warned again before switching on the machine.

As soon as the laser hit her skin she immediately felt a warm sensation spreading rapidly around the skin of the heated spot. At first it was just a hot, almost pleasant feeling, but after a few seconds Santana realized why Brittany had prepared her twice for the burning part. It was actually burning and hurting.

"Uhg."

"If it is too painful just tell me." Brittany said again and Santana was warmed by the girl's concern for her, but that sensation lasted only a few seconds. "Unfortunately money only buys the procedure, it can't stop the pain." She added teasing.

"I'm fine." Santana replied quickly with a firm tone, already getting annoyed by her arrogant tone.

"Oh, we have a though one here!" Brittany mocked her again. "So, we have about half an hour. Tell me something about you and your wonderful life." She insisted with the teasing tone.

Santana had never been stupid and one of the many things she couldn't stand was people mocking her.

"Like you care." She replied snorting whilst trying so hard to remain calm even though her heart was beating so fast against her ribcage she could swear she could feel it vibrating through the table.

"You're right, I don't really care but you should speak to distract yourself."

Santana didn't want to give her the satisfaction of talking about her life and mostly she didn't want to give her any more ammunition to mock her, but she was willing to do anything to stop thinking about the burning.

"Ok, you win. What do you want to know?"

Brittany shrugged, or at least that was what Santana pictured in her mind.

"A part from staring at my lips does Santana Lopez have a hobby?"

Santana's blood immediately rushed up to her face she thought she had been subtle with her leering, obviously not.

"I wasn't staring."

_Yes, I was._

"I'm just kidding, so?"

A hobby, no she didn't, how could she? She spent most of the day at work and then she was home with Ray. What 25 year old had a hobby?

"I actually don't, I mean I work, like a lot."

"Oh so you are one of those people who live to work?"

"No, I'm not! It's just that I don't have much free time, to do the things I like."

"That or your boyfriend doesn't give you any free time." Brittany suggested.

"Is that a bad thing?" Santana questioned unsure.

"I don't know. Are you happy to play the part of the perfect girlfriend always by his side?" Brittany insisted.

"I don't play anything. It's just who I am!" Santana replied annoyed.

"Wow."

What the fuck was her problem? Why the hell was she being such a bitch to her? But what was annoying her even more was that she seemed to be paying to be insulted.

"You do realize that I am the customer?" Santana asked.

"So?"

"You should treat me…" she paused because she was afraid of saying anything as she knew that whatever she said would be wrong.

"Oh, I get it you're rich, so you are also buying my kindness?"

"Your kindness, what the hell is your problem with well off people? You treat us like a wicked race. We are all different people and ever since I've met you, all you have done is make your own generalizations, but the truth is that you don't know anything about me!" Santana almost yelled in one breath but as soon as she calmed down she realized her mistake.

_Fuck._

She had risen to Brittany's provocation.

"I'm generalizing 'cause you're all the same!" Brittany insisted. "You all think you're destined to rule the world and everyone in it, you don't care about other people's needs or feelings. When you guys have a problem, well it's easy for you because you usually just pay someone to solve it or make it disappear."

"That is completely untrue! Do you really think our life is perfect? Do you really believe my life is perfect?" Santana said fighting back against those accusations. Brittany couldn't have been more wrong. Santana would have gladly traded her life for anyone else's.

She realized that she was gripping the bed too tight as her knuckles were turning white and she felt a couple of tears blurring her vision.

_Focus Santana._

She wished she hadn't got involved in this conversation to begin with.

"I bet you have your own issues, Barbie, like _what should I wear_ or _what car should I take this morning_." Brittany teased and at that answer Santana tried rise on her arms all set to confront her but the blonde girl readily push her back on the bed.

"Hey, hey don't move."

"Then, stop being such an ass!" Santana almost screamed out loud.

Brittany froze for a second before giggling.

"Ok, maybe this isn't the best time for this kind of discussion." She agreed.

"You think?"

"So tell, what is wrong in your life?" she asked again surprising Santana for the umpteenth time in the past fifteen minutes. How was she even supposed to think about opening her heart up?

"I don't want to talk about it"

"I am just trying to understand." Brittany explained.

"You won't understand."

"Try me." The tattooist insisted and Santana couldn't help but wonder if she was genuinely interested in what she had to say or if she was just trying to fuck with her.

"I-I" Santana stuttered realizing that she had never really talked to anyone about her past issues and what she was feeling in this particular moment of her life. She wasn't even sure if she was even able to admit to herself what was wrong.

"I had some past issues with alcohol." She cut shortly even though that wasn't exactly the truth, she had only one issue with alcohol and it was related to that horrific night she would rather not think about.

Brittany didn't say anything back and Santana took advantage of it to add.

"I know you don't understand since you're probably living like a rock star."

"Now look who's generalizing. Just because I am covered with tattoos, it doesn't mean I get drunk all the time."

"The last time I was here you were tattooing your friend while drinking." Santana argued.

"Oh come on, it was just a beer and it was Sunday."

"So, you are really telling me that the badass Brittany S. Pierce, who owns a tattoo studio, doesn't get wasted on the weekend?"

Brittany giggled a little bit and for a moment Santana had the impression that the two of them were actually talking and not arguing.

"Well…" Brittany paused. "I can't deny that I had fun in the past and that I've tried all kinds of drinks and drugs but I've realized it isn't for me. I mean I do drink and..."

She paused to check her reaction, "smoke occasionally, but getting wasted isn't really my thing."

"Why?" Santana asked thinking about all the past Saturday nights alone in her big empty house, where a bottle of wine was the only thing that was keeping her company.

"People always say that they drink to have the courage to do certain things, right? But that's the point of having the courage to do them if you can't remember them the following morning?"

"Some people drink to forget their problems."

"I don't get that either. The alcohol doesn't delete them it just postpones them till the following day."

"Yeah but..." she tried to argue but she was actually speechless, she knew that girl was right she just didn't want to admit it.

"You're making it too simple."

"Life isn't that complicated Santana or at least it shouldn't be, if it is it's your fault."

"It's not true sometimes you simply can't control everything."

"True, but you certainly can control most of it."

"Again, you're making it too simple." Santana added, her heart was still racing and she was totally shocked since she had just been overtaken by an irrational urge to tell the girl who was so far away from her way of living, all her troubles. She bit her lower lip to try to push back the waterfall of words, approaching her mouth.

"So, what's your hobby?" she asked to divert the topic from that one.

"My job."

"Work isn't a hobby!" she argued, but she was somehow amused by that answer.

"It depends, whether or not you like what you do for living."

"I don't know, a job is just a job." Santana replied mentally rolling her eyes at herself for that stupid answer. She knew she didn't really mean it but she was jealous of the thought that someone could actually love their job, since hers was probably one of the causes of her current depression.

"See Barbie for you, your job is probably just a way of earning money and something to fill your day otherwise it would be even emptier."

As quick as lightening there she was, insulted again and what was worse, she knew Brittany was right. It was like she was reading her mind, but still Santana couldn't stand the idea of being vulnerable in front of someone, especially her so she chose her best defensive maneuver, avoidance.

"You keep talking about me, but you don't actually know anything about me! Plus, what's so special about tattooing people?" Santana tried eager to take the attention of her.

This time Brittany didn't respond to her dark tone, she let out a calming sigh, before she answered.

"Everything Santana, my job allows me to get in touch with people. It's true that 20% of people who get a tattoo just do it to appear cool or badass, but the rest of them do it for their own personal reasons whether it is for a loss so they never forget, something passionate or a memory, I become part of it. These people actually allow me to become part of their life, permanently since a part of me, a part of who I am will be with them forever and that is simply amazing. Every time I tattoo someone it's completely different from the previous one and the way I feel during each time is just amazing. It's a mix of adrenaline, excitement and sensitivity. But I guess you'll find all this boring and pointless since it actually involves feelings and feelings are for human beings not robots."

Santana didn't know what to answer, her first reaction was to start crying because the way Brittany was speaking about her job made her feel even more miserable about her life and second because she couldn't bare to have her insult her like that. It was the truth, she hadn't been feeling anything these past few years and she thought she was used to a life without emotions, but she wasn't sure about that anymore, she had never felt so vulnerable and sensitive in her entire life.

"No, I just think you're lucky to be doing something you love so much." she opted for kindness and Brittany was visibly shaken for a second.

"Oh..." she whispered not expecting those words at all. "Yeah I guess I am."

"Well, I do have a hobby but I actually don't do it anymore." Santana added trying to keep the conversation on a light note.

"And what's that?"

"Listening to music I just love it"

"Who doesn't?"

"Well, Ray for example."

"Oh come on, a life without music is like a life without boobs." Brittany agreed in her own unique way. "Plus, sometimes the lyrics of the songs seem to be written for you or for the people surrounding you." She added.

She guessed that girl was right but she couldn't remember the last time she had really paid attention to the lyrics of a song.

"Oh and _Barbie_?"

"What?"

"We're done here." She announced making Santana widen her eyes in surprise since she had been too busy arguing with her that she hadn't even thought about the pain.

"Wow." She answered but she wasn't completely sure if it was for quick the treatment went.

_April 30_

_11:30 am_

Ray pressed his three-hundred dollar shoes on the gas of their Ferrari Enzo. Santana hated this car, it was way too extreme and flashy but that Sunday they had the famous brunch at Reed's and Ray just wanted to make his usual entrance.

"Ray?" Santana asked.

"Yes Hun?"

"What's your favorite song?"

"I don't have one. You know I don't really like music."

"How can you not like music?"

"I just don't like it Sanny." Somehow the sound of the name Sanny leaving his mouth made Santana shiver with annoyance, she hated when Ray called her that and she hated that he was avoiding her question again.

"Well I do." She snorted turning her head to look outside the car window but her mind was suddenly woken up by the sound of a song playing she quickly turned again and saw Ray looking at her smiling.

"If you like listening to music, I can always start to listen to music." He explained sweetly making her hint a smile and immediately felt guilty about her black mood towards him.

Her mulling over her behavior towards Ray only lasted a couple of seconds since her brain was too focused on the music playing.

It was a nice, sweet, slow melody accompanied by light guitar chords and she simply couldn't help but pay attention to the lyrics of the song.

_Everything will break._

_People say goodbye._

_In their own special way._

_All that you rely on_

_And all that you can fake_

_Will leave you in the morning_

_But find you in the day_

Instinctively her heart sped up as she heard the lyrics, she didn't know why but something was happening to her in that car and Ray didn't seem to notice at all. She turned to hide her uneasiness.

_Oh you're in my veins_

_And I cannot get you out_

_Oh you're all I taste _

_At night inside of my mouth_

_Oh you run away_

_Cause I am not what you found_

_Oh you're in my veins_

_And I cannot get you out._

Brittany's image had already invaded her brain and wasn't leaving no matter how hard she was trying to push her away. Luckily for her Ray, unknowingly, saved her from her thoughts.

"Here we are." He said approaching the private road that led to the big white colonial style house.

The car arrived quickly at the entrance and Santana smiled since a lot of people she knew but didn't actually care about, were standing on the porch waving at them but then her heart froze, it literally stopped beating for a second and her jaw dropped refusing to belive what she was seeing.

Was she hallucinating or was Brittany S. Pierce was standing on that porch, wearing a white cocktail dress?

* * *

**Guy thank you so much for the feedback so far!**

**Hope you like it! Have an amazing weekend!**

**And Ruby..Thank you for the help!**


	4. Chapter 4

_April 30_

_12:45 pm_

Santana's first reaction when she saw Brittany was to jump out of the car run towards Brittany and touch her to check if she was real or just a figment of Santana's imagination. Her brain was blurred and along with her ever increasing heart rate she was having a difficult time focusing.

_What the hell._

Flashed through her mind but, before she could really process what was going on, Ray caught her attention and woke her up from her catatonic state.

"Oh, your parents are already here." He commented waving his hand at them.

Santana couldn't help but follow the imaginary line of his gaze to find her mum and dad standing smiling a few meters away from them.  
"Yes." She agreed while Ray was concentrating on parking his fancy car and being his usual arrogant self by bragging about how much better it was than everybody else who was in attendance. Unfortunately for Ray though Santana was too busy trying to look for the blonde's silhouette amongst LA's finest.

She rapidly scanned through the group of people talking and laughing on the large porch but there were no signs of the tattooist.

_Yet, I saw her._

She was aware she could possibly be in the throws of a mental breakdown, but she was still pretty confident that she had seen her; she would bet her life she had seen the one and only Brittany S. Pierce. Yet, her confidence wavered not a second later when she couldn't spot the elusive blonde, was she really going crazy?

Again she was prevented from processing her thoughts as Ray thought it would be a good time to usher her out of the car.

"Hey honey, is everything alright? He asked with slight concern noticing her upset expression.

"Yes why?"

He shrugged and replied with a light tone. "It just looks like you saw a ghost."

Ray had hit the nail on the head, what was happening to her? Had that girl really over took her mind so completely? For a second the possibility of her actually being crazy was a certified option but then she just decided to ignore all the signs and to try to have fun, well as much fun that could be had at a Sunday brunch.

"I'm fine Ray." She replied placing a kiss on his cheek to solidify that she was completely okay.

"Come on let's go I'm dying to listen to what your dad has to say about my new car."

"He'll love it, I know that." Santana replied to reassure him but the truth was that her dad was the only one in her family not to care about material things, so she was pretty sure that the fact that Ray's car was worth $300 000 wouldn't have caught his attention. But she also knew that her father was a kind, polite man and she was confident that he would have the decency to pretend he was impressed.

Santana followed Ray and her parents into the big colonial house that was holding this particular brunch. It took her a few seconds to set her heart beat to a regular rhythm but, after a while she was able to breathe and speak calmly again. The thought of Brittany had finally abandoned her, leaving her with the usual sense of emptiness that seemed to be ever present recently.

The outside lawn was all set out with Gazebo's in place with white tables set out underneath and a buffet fit for a king placed upon them. A string quartet was playing creating a pleasant atmosphere to match the warm weather but no matter how pleasant they are when you first hear them, this was the fifth time Santana had attended and everything was exactly the same. Full of people boasting about their possessions, their luxurious travels and each person constantly trying to out spend the other. But that wasn't what bothered Santana, no, what bothered Santana was the permanent fakeness that seemed to equate happiness in their eyes. The real truth was those people, she was used to seeing every weekend ironically labeled her _friends_, didn't know the first thing about her and what was really going on in her life. Which could obviously have something to do with the fact she didn't even know what was going on in her life these days so, how could she expect anybody else too.

Santana sat at the table with Ray and her dad who already seemed to be in a deep discussion about sailing.

She rolled her eyes up to the heavens and silently prayed for someone to save her from what has become of her life. There was only one thing worse than listening to them talk about golf and it was listening to them talk about sailing.

Luckily or unluckily for her, she was provided a distraction in the form of her mum accompanied with the tradition Sunday interrogation. She loved her mum, she really did but she simply couldn't stand the way she was always trying to control her life and where it was going. Since the accident her mum had never left her and she was clearly grateful for the support, but sometimes she felt like a puppet being guided by the judgments and suggestions of the woman who had given birth to her.

She was aware that _technically_ a mother always wanted the best for her daughter but Santana felt more like a possession than a human being.

Over the years, she had learned to listen patiently to whatever her mother had to say and then obey to whatever she wanted. She was strongly convinced it was the lesser of two evils obeying her mother because she knew for a fact she would never win an argument so why even bother trying?

Mrs. Lopez, that was how she silently addressed her mother, was still speaking about some new garden furniture that she and Ray absolutely had to buy, when her vision was suddenly full of blond hair passing by.

_Oh my god_.

She focused her eyes to check if she was having another hallucination but this time she was definitely lucid. There was no chance in the world that she was wrong, Brittany S. Pierce had just passed right next to her table and was walking towards the entrance of the house.

Santana's heart immediately skipped a beat and when it started beating again it produced a wave of vibrations that spread quickly throughout her body causing her to tremble. With both eyes she watched the girl approach the house, stop right in front of the entrance and take a seat on the patio steps.

She was, well Santana wasn't really able to process what she was feeling and all that seemed to be going through her mind continuously was the word _stunning._

Brittany was wearing a simple white strapless dress that came right above her knees. It was tight enough to show off the blonde's perfect curves and her tattoos were proving to be the perfect accessories to match. Santana was shocked by that vision, firstly because she had no clue of the reason why she was there and secondly because she was inexplicably bewitched by the girl's beauty. She simply couldn't stop staring at her, the way she was smiling politely at the people passing by and the way she was rolling her eyes right after.

Santana found she was wondering again why that girl seemed to look so angelic yet have the attitude of a devil at the same time. But in that moment she only wanted one thing, well two really number one why was she there and number two she really just wanted to be close to her again. She wanted to feel alive again and that only seemed to be happening when she was standing less than three meters away from the tattooist.

"Mum, can you excuse me for just a moment?" she asked standing up and wavering slightly before she started to walk towards the girl.

Five meters were separating the two of them and Santana was already about to fucking faint.

Four, three…

"What are you doing here?" She asked in one breath making Brittany turn her head to Santana, giving her a once over before she smiled up at her.

"Oh it's you hey _Barbie_." She said nonchalantly.

"Are you stalking me?" Santana accused.

Brittany frowned for just a second taking the time to process the question. Then she stood up.

_Crap._

The girl with her eyes glued on Santana, made the few steps that were separating the two of them, those two steps that were giving the Latina some sense of comfort, lost all control of her senses _again_ as Brittany invaded her space.

_Double Crap._

"Do you really believe I'm following you?"

Santana immediately jolted as a sense of uncertainty overtook her. Wait, she was so damn sure that Brittany was there just to mess with her, that she hadn't even take into account the possibility that the girl was there for another reason. But if so, what was it? Was there really another conceivable reason for a girl like her who was so far from her own world, to attend a mundane brunch with all the richest people of the valley?

"Oh, so you're telling me that you are here because someone actually invited you here." Santana replied snorting since she couldn't make a step back and plus she was pretty confident that was the only reason why.

Brittany couldn't be there for another reason, but she had recently started to understand that her certainties were not made of very strong stuff.

"Wow, Santana Lopes is actually a classist." Brittany commented but the tone was still incredibly light and Santana's heart immediately accelerated since she had no idea what was coming next. "Just because I work in a tattoo shop doesn't meant I can't have anything to do with rich people."

Santana readily shook her head. "No wait, I wasn't meaning…" but then she froze as she noticed what was the hint of a smile approaching the blonde's lips. "..why is everything a game to you?"

Brittany gave her a _what-are-talking-about_ look.

"You, since I've known you haven't relented with your teasing or mocking!" Santana explained with a hurt voice.

"_Barbie,_ teasing you is just a consequence of me being around you. I told you what you were about to deal with before you signed the contract with me." Brittany replied.

"Yeah, but showing up here is too much!" Santana quickly said.

"Again, do you really believe I'm here for you, are you that arrogant?"

"I-I…" but her words where literally stopped by someone cutting into the conversation and stepping right in between them facing towards Brittany.

What Santana was struggling to understand was why would a little blonde girl who couldn't be older than 7 need Brittany's attention?

She couldn't help but smile at the sight of what seemed to be a little angel, with her shimmery blonde hair and innocent blue eyes. Unexpectedly the little girl smiled at Brittany and in just two second Santana's mind managed to notice just how alike the little girl and Brittany looked.

_Wait a second._

Brittany smiled as well and she couldn't help but notice how sweet and amazing that smile was, too bad it seemed this little girl was the only one privy to such a display of kindness, as that was indeed the first time Santana had seen her so relaxed and happy. Wait, was that little angel really about to talk to the rude, unpredictable girl?

For a second Santana wondered if she should stop her, but since her mind was incapable of making any decisions at this current moment in time, she simply stood still, observing and waiting to see what the little girl was going to do.

_Run you've still got time_.

She thought, wanting the best for what seemed to be one of the loveliest, most innocent girl she had ever seen in her life. She hadn't been smart enough and now thanks to a series of unfortunate events, she was about to spend the next month being emotionally and physically tortured by that blonde.

Brittany bent down on to her knees, in order to be on the same level as her.

"Auntie!" The little girl said enthusiastically making Santana's eyes widen, not believing what she was hearing. "I've been looking for you." The little angel added closing the remaining distance that separated them causing Brittany's smile to give the sun's brightness a run for its money.

"Hey, don't worry I was right here." She cooed and Santana for a second almost jolted at the thought that Brittany could be kind to a human being.

"Who's this pretty girl?" The kid asked innocently diverting her attention to Santana.

Brittany turned her head to look at Santana directly and just like every other time those bright blue eyes connected with her own mocha ones, she felt a cold shiver running down her spine.

"She's just a friend." Brittany replied still holding her gaze.

"Santana…" She added making her tremble at the sound of her name escaping those apparently soft and rose colored lips. "And this beautiful little girl is my Nat." She introduced with pride oozing out of her voice.

Santana couldn't help but smile, moved by the way that little girl was waving at her.

"Hi Nat I'm Santana, nice to meet you."

"Hi! Is she your girlfriend?" The little girl questioned Brittany whilst Santana tried to stop herself from blushing. Brittany however, didn't seem to be bothered by her question.

"Oh no honey, she is one of my customers." Brittany replied caressing the little girl's face.

Santana was paralyzed; she simply couldn't stop staring at the image of these two blondes together. Brittany had certainly been a jerk to her, but the way she was acting towards Nat was slowly erasing all the bad thoughts she had regarding the rude tattooist.

Nat smiled rolling her eyes at her. "Is she _the_ new customer? The one with the smokin' body?" the little girl asked making Santana's heart immediately skip a beat.

_Wait, what? _

Was Brittany really thinking that she had a hot body? If she could move her body, which was almost impossible at the moment, she would have pinched herself to check if she was still in the real world.

An ordinary person would have blushed but she had had enough time to understand that Brittany wasn't _ordinary_ at all as a matter of fact, the girl simply looked at her with a smirk and Santana had the impression the blonde was highly entertained by this current conversation.

Santana looked directly at Brittany while her heart was almost exploding from her chest, eager to know what the other girl was about to answer.

"Yes, but sometimes being hot isn't everything" Brittany replied teasingly holding her steady gaze.

Her heart skipped a beat at that answer. What was that even suppose to mean? Was it another way of mocking her?

Luckily for her the kid wasn't interested in deepening the topic and lightly commented.

"My auntie has the coolest job in the World!"

Brittany beamed once again and took the little girl into her arms, lifting her up.

"And you are the most adorable creature on this planet!" She exclaimed leaning forward to brush the kid's nose with hers. Nat giggled happily and hugged the tattooist's neck with her tiny arms.

"I am. And I also want to get a tattoo." She stated firmly making Santana hint a smile.

"We'll talk about it when you are 18" Brittany replied laughing and shaking her head.

"But I want it now. Santana don't you think I should get one?" She asked innocently fluttering her eyelashes at her.

Santana didn't know why but she lowered her gaze blushing.

"I-I…" She paused to check Brittany's reaction. "I think 18 is a fair deal." She agreed trying to remain in neutral territory.

"See?" Brittany replied. "And hot customers are always right!"

Oh god.

Brittany really thought she was hot. But what surprised Santana the most was how easily she confessed this, like she was merely stating the sky was blue. She had been with Ray for three years and he had never said that. Of course occasionally he would tell her how beautiful she was, but that just seemed to be as more of a courtesy or an obligation because he was her boyfriend. Santana felt the heart racing for the umpteenth time in the last few minutes and suddenly a warm feeling spread to her chest, reaching the deepest parts of her heart.

Despite the fact that it was a sunny Sunday morning she was pretty sure that that warmth wasn't caused by the weather.

Santana's mind was totally incapable of processing any thoughts at all and all she could do was stand still, eyes glued to Brittany's mouth and try to remember how to breathe.

_Fuck, say something!_

"Auntie? Can I go over there to play with my friends?" Luckily for her, Nat broke the awkward tension and diverted the blonde's attention off Santana.

"Sure honey. " She replied whilst lowering the girl back to the ground and letting her run off towards her friends. the girl go.

Santana was still frozen with an awkward expression painted on her face. Brittany didn't invade her space this time and sat back on the brick steps.

For a second Santana had the urge to turn and run away as fast as she could but for once the curiosity to know what was really going on was too much. Unsteadily, she approached the steps and without a word she simply sat next to her. Her heart was still hammering against her ribcage and each beat seemed to cause a tidal like vibration through her chest.

"So I guess that meeting me in a place like this is pretty shocking, huh?" she asked nonchalantly.

"I'm more shocked by the fact that Nat knows the expression _smoking body_." She commented lightly, hoping not to offend the blonde.

Brittany smiled. "She is a smart kid." She stated.

"So have you really told her about, uh, me?" Santana wanted so bad to have said _about my hot body_ but she decided to opt for a safer way of asking if she was really speaking about her with other people.

"I have. Is that a problem?"

"No definitely not."

"It's just a fact." Brittany added.

"W-what?"

"That despite the fact I really don't like the way you are leading your life, you are indeed hot." She explained and Santana thanked the heavens that she was sat down, otherwise she probably would have been on the floor after that comment. It was absolutely incredible the power Brittany seemed to have over her mind. She was really confused about how to she was supposed to respond to that, was it a compliment or an insult?

But this time Santana was sick of the rude tattooist constantly insulting her life and she was not going to let it drop this time!

"Excuse me, aren't you the one who hates this world?" she asked with a challenging tone that simply provoked the ever smirking Brittany.

"Sure I do." Brittany started with her classic teasing tone but this time Santana didn't let her talk again.

"So tell me why the hell is someone like you attending what is one of the most important brunch's of the season?"

Brittany opened her mouth but again Santana hadn't finished. "Oh my god." She said drawing the blonde's attention. "Your last name is Pierce, isn't it?"

"Yeah so, what's your point?"

"Are you, by any chances, related to Mark Pierce?"

Brittany didn't reply and for the first time she lowered her gaze in what looked a lot like defeat to Santana. She was indeed related to one of the most important and richest families in the county. Mark Pierce was the owner of an important shipping company that had business in the USA, Japan and China.

"Oh my god, you are!" she exclaimed making the girl glare at her.

A thousand questions suddenly invested Santana's brain that she desperately wanted the answer to, she was eager to find out the reason why Brittany was so hostile toward her own origins and why the hell she hadn't mentioned it to her.

"He is my father." She replied looking anywhere but at Santana. Santana simply couldn't believe what she was hearing. Brittany probably had more money than her boyfriend and she had the nerve to make her feel like shit for being wealthy?

"I don't understand." Santana commented with a disappointed tone. Suddenly she felt like the girl had no right to judge or mock her when she was from the same origins.

"There is nothing to understand _Barbie_. I'm here cuz my lovely sister asked me to babysit Nat today but she forgot to mention that Nat had to absolutely attend this party, so she gave me this stupid dress and I've come here. It's not a big deal." She replied shrugging.

"Brittany, your dad is probably one of the richest men in LA."

"So?"

"So? In the past few days all you've done is insult me and my origins and now what? Plot twist! You and I share the same ones! You are not different from me at all!"

"Santana the fact that I may have the same money as you doesn't imply that we are the same."

"But…you..."

"I what Santana? The only reason I've been mocking and teasing you is not because of your money but because of who you are. You seem so lost and not your true self at all and I just don't get it. You are smart, from I've been able to see, beautiful, with all the possibilities in the world and still you seem so bored and disappointed with your life."

"I don't have to justify why I don't really like my life right now."

"You're right, but you have all the possibilities in this world, so I guess you're just a coward."

"Wow." Santana commented snorting. That girl was insulting her, _again._

"What?"

"Your words are really harsh." Santana commented.

"I'm just being honest!"

"Ok if that's the case can you just lie to me instead?" Santana said quickly making the other girl hint a smile. "I mean we are going to see each other a lot in the next few months, so why don't you just try to be nicer to me? I'm not that bad once you get to know me." She said insecurely secretly begging for the tattooist to give her a chance. She didn't even know the reason why she wanted Brittany to change her opinion about her so badly. Deep down she knew that the blonde was right about her, most of the time, but she was so afraid of letting somebody in.

"Fine." Brittany mumble exhausted.

"Does that mean that you'll give me a chance and stop acting like Miss perfect-ass?"

"No, it means that I'll keep acting like 'Miss perfect-ass' but at least I'll try to understand who Santana Lopez really is." She paused for a second but before Santana could breathe again the blonde added "...not that I care." Effectively ruining there moment.

Santana immediately glared at her, but this time she wanted Brittany to see it.

"Hey I've just promised you that I will try" Brittany replied raising her hands defensively. "I'm not used to it yet."

Santana chose to let the comment slide because overall, the conversation seemed to be a success.

She thoughtlessly started playing with a blade of grass sticking up from between the bricks.

"So tell me." Brittany said causing Santana turn to look at her.

"What?"

"What happened before?"

"Before what?" Santana asked frowning.

"Before, before." But as Santana gave her another questioning look, Brittany added. "You told me that something happened to you."

Santana immediately understood what she was asking but she really wasn't ready for that conversation. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Why not? You told me you wanted me to get to know you." Brittany argued.

"It's way too personal."

"Good. I don't give a fuck about what your favorite ice-cream flavor is or your favorite movie." Brittany replied harshly.

"You're doing it again!"

"Santana you're so stubborn, you keep on saying that there is more to you than meets the eye but you don't let anyone in. If you really want to make me understand who you really are, you should really stop being so scared and start talking."

"Does everything have to be so difficult with you?"

"I'm not forcing you _Barbie_. You can stand up, go and find your mother and talk about furnishings or you can stay here." She explained making Santana's heart beat out of control. The way the blonde was talking to her was so blunt and to the point that she should probably just listen to her and leave but, at the same time Santana still couldn't find it in herself to want to leave.

She lowered her gaze, gathering her thoughts and took a few deep breaths trying to regulate her heart beat.

"Three years ago I was a completely different person." Santana said in one breath, the tattooist didn't say anything.

"I, I was fun and carefree so different from who I am now. I was always doing what I felt like and nobody could tell me what to do."

"No one." She insisted.

"Sounds like a cool person to me." Brittany commented.

"But then, three years ago I had this stupid accident and I was the one who caused it. I almost killed a friend of mine and my parents were really scared, so when I was still in the hospital, I swore to myself that I would never have people suffer because of me again."

"So basically you are the one who's in pain right now?" Brittany accused continuing to be her ever pleasant direct self.

"I'm not in pain!"

"Well, I may be wrong but you don't really seem to love your life right now."

"That is just because I have a very busy and chaotic life that is tiring sometimes."

"Santana, lying to yourself is maybe the worst thing you can do." She paused. "Have you considered seeing a shrink?"

She had actually, many times. But every time, every effort had been useless.

"Is this the best thing you can come up with?" she said snorting.

"You have been through something terrible. " She reasoned. "That's why people go to shrinks."

"Do you go to a shrink?" Santana asked in a defensive tone.

"I don't need one!" Brittany argued.

"Ah, right cos you're life is practically perfect! You do what you love to do cos your dad's money allows that!"

"Wow. Look who's being an ass now!" Brittany commented hinting a smile. "You don't know me either."

"So let me in!" Santana asked almost begging and she immediately lowered her gaze blushing from her desperate tone.

"It's not my fault if I like my life! But you know what? I had to fight and work hard to get it. My dad had always wanted a scientist or some kind of genius, that's why I graduated from MIT when I was 24, to make him proud of me but then, right after that, I closed my savings account and told him that I didn't need his money. I wanted to live by my own choices and after a while he accepted that."

Santana didn't know what to say. Was this girl even real? She was apparently a genius and an artist at the same time alongside being rude and kind of a bad ass, but the way she acted towards Nat had almost melted her heart. She couldn't help but beam at her, losing herself in those blue eyes.

Deeply she knew she needed to stop, she absolutely needed to stop before what was simple admiration became something more.

"And…thank you for making me feel even worse." Santana murmured sarcastically.

"You arrived here in a Ferrari. Your life can't be that bad."

"I hate that car and _again_ I don't hate my life."

"If you say so." She paused. "All I'm saying is that at the end of the day, all you have is you and if you don't like yourself then I guess you have a big problem girl."

"I guess you are right."

Brittany nodded imperceptibly.

"But _again_ it's not that simple." Santana repeated trying to get Brittany to see her side of it.

"If it is complicated you're the only one to blame." Brittany replied harshly proving her point once again.

Santana didn't reply, she knew they could have continued going round in circles but for once she didn't want to. She was aware that being you shouldn't be something that difficult but sometimes life chooses for you and she was one of those unlucky cases. She knew she had all the possibilities in the world but it was like she was trapped in a room full of people and all she could do was scream but no one noticed, no one but a rude, crazy tattooist.

Silence fell again between them, but this time it wasn't awkward anymore, it was different. For the first time Santana had the impression that Brittany really wanted to be there, talking to her.

Her attention was suddenly drawn away by Ray waving and smiling at her. He was talking to his colleague, probably about the upcoming state golf tournament.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Brittany asked.

"Uhm…"Santana stuttered. "Yes." she said feeling slightly guilty.

"Wow." Brittany started, slightly tilting her head to the side, still looking ahead, in Ray's direction.

"If you make a joke about me not being here alone, I'll leave." Santana quickly replied pointing her index finger at her in warning.

"I just wanted to say that he's hot" she paused rolling her eyes ate her and smirking. "too"

"Too?"

"Yes, besides being powerful and rich." Brittany commented. "Good catch Santana."

She was getting that all the time.

But after a second Brittany looked right into her eyes trespassing into her very soul with just a glance.

"Are you happy with him?"

Wow, in just one question Brittany had brought up all that Santana had been trying to avoid for the past 3 years. She had absolutely no clue about what the true answer was. Was it a yes just because he was making her feel okay, protected and respected? Was it a no, cos she knew deep down, she wasn't in love with him, he had never made her feel how you are supposed to when you're in love with somebody. But Brittany was still a stranger after all and the only thing she could say was. "Yeah sure."

"So how does he make you feel?" The blonde insisted making her feel uncomfortable again. She was clearly overstepping but Brittany didn't seem to be aware of boundaries.

"Okay." Santana replied without too much thinking.

"Wow _Barbie_." Brittany snorted. "If I was living with a girl and she answered _okay_ I would probably throw myself out of the window." She commented with a sarcastic teasing tone.

"I, I just wanted to say that he makes me feel good. We are not teenagers anymore we are living our relationship as two grown up people." Santana explained.

"Yes and you probably never kiss in public and smile at the charity events." Brittany replied rolling her eyes up to the sky.

"Ok, are you a marriage counselor by any chance?"

"No!" She replied snorting. "But I had my own experiences…" Pause. "Lots of them."

Santana smiled before replying.

"That's different from having a serious relationship."

She knew this was a dangerous path to walk through and she needed to divert the attention from the subject, but on the other side she was kinda enjoying it.

"So is he funny?"

Funny was not a word she would use to describe Ray at all.

"In his own way." Santana lied. "But we have fun together."

Brittany laughed at those words.

"Wow Barbie! Good for you!" She said with a teasing tone.

"Oh no! I didn't mean it in that way!" Santana replied quickly already feeling the hot flush of blood reaching her cheeks.

"Too bad!" She said still looking at her. "I hope you guys have fun in that way." She added looking away so that Santana could breathe again.

"Sure we do." The brunette said without thinking, she really didn't want Brittany to think that she and Ray didn't have a healthy sex life. That's why she preferred to lie to the blonde tattooist.

"So how is it?" The girl insisted making her feel even more uncomfortable.

"I, I don't know its ok." She immediately reproached herself for saying the word once again.

"I mean it's good." She added trying to repair to the damage.

"Wow, Santana your love life seems to be straight from the 1800's."

What did that even mean?

"Boring as hell." Brittany added.

"You are so wrong!"

"So tell me something! How does he make you feel? And if you answer ok again I'll kick your ass."

"He really makes me feel good, okay! What's wrong with that?" Santana argued she had absolutely no clue what point the girl was trying to make.

"You are so young! You should be feeling different!"

"And how? Tell me cos apparently you're an expert!" Santana insisted out loud but, of course, Brittany didn't seem to care about the fact that she was offending her.

"Well I don't believe in love, soul mates or stupid things like that" she started in her own special way. "…but if you are truly into someone you should feel this incredible electricity every time he passes by. Just one thought of him should make you feel that throbbing sensation in you lower limbs and should give you the overwhelming urge to just have them." She replied easily.

Santana was staring at the grass in front of her, really incapable of thinking or acting. She simply stayed there, listening to those words while her beat was slowly accelerating and her palms were getting sweaty.

Her brain was suddenly woken up by the sensation of something brushing her pinkie. With one eye she noticed it was Brittany's finger. She froze, holding her breath afraid of making a sound. She was pretty sure the girl had done it accidentally.

"The simple touch of his hands..." Brittany continued and Santana again felt the light pressure of Brittany's finger on her skin, this time slowly caressing the back of her hand making her almost jump form her seat. Brittany didn't stop though and with the tip of her finger continued drawing little circles on Santana's olive skin making her feel like she was about to fucking faint. What the hell was she doing? She needed to stop; she couldn't be doing something that inappropriate, not almost in front of her boyfriend. Santana couldn't move at all, she tried to clear her throat but only a light _ugh_ came out of her mouth. "…should make you feel like everything fades into the background, all you can hear is the beating of your heart and it should make you think that the person in front of you is all that matters, all that you want." Brittany said calmly with a soft deep tone. Each word seemed to penetrate her very soul, spoken just to make her tremble, each sound that was escaping the blonde's lips was producing a slow chill running down Santana's spine and she could really feel the fucking beat of her heart everywhere, in her ears, her chest and in her stomach.

She was so surprised when the throbbing sensation the blonde was talking about slowly reached right between her legs.

_What the hell is happening to me?_

"I, I uh." Santana stuttered her mind still blurred. After what seemed an eternity she managed to pull her hand back.

"That is how you are supposed to feel." The blonde concluded as if she was simply explaining something mundane to her.

"W-what the hell was that?" Santana asked still shaking.

Brittany turned her head again and her blue eyes stared at her making her lose all the confidence she had gained in the last hour.

"Nothing just a harmless bit of flirting." The tattooist replied with a smirk.

_Oh god._

"I, I should go." Santana said quickly standing up and started walking in the opposite direction of that evil temptation. What the hell was all that about? And why the hell she had never felt so alive in her entire life?

She shivered for one last time as she heard Brittany saying. "See you next week, _Barbie."_


	5. Chapter 5

_May 2_

_06:00 pm_

"Ok, Santana can you handle a little bit more?" Brittany asked with a husky tone, slightly touching her on the shoulder.  
Santana closed her eyes, forcing herself to focus on the real meaning of the question, before she listened to her body that was practically screaming that she couldn't handle the situation anymore.

Since the Sunday brunch Brittany had took over her mind, when she was sleeping she was dreaming of Brittany, when she was eating breakfast Brittany was on her mind, Brittany, Brittany and more Brittany. She had tried to push the image of the blonde holding her niece in her arms away, she had tried to forget what she had felt while Brittany caressed her hand but all her damn efforts were proving to be futile.  
She didn't want to see her again, she didn't want to feel that again, but unfortunately she had signed a fucking contract and it was in her best interest to finish all the sessions with Brittany. She had checked on the Internet and damn, that girl really was the only one who was performing the laser therapy.  
So, here she was, lying half naked on Brittany's bed, but this time was different from the last one, first of all she was aware of the fact that the tattooist found her hot and second she had never felt so fucking embarrassed in her entire life.

She needed to talk to her, about what had happened the weekend before but she was so afraid of how the girl would take her _speech_.

"Oh, err, I-yes." She stuttered out of her mouth inwardly cringing at her innate ability to become a mumbling mess.

"Good girl." the blonde replied with a bit of teasing in her voice, but Santana couldn't find it in herself to think it was nice or funny. She simply couldn't stop picturing the image of the girl caressing the back of her hand. Santana inwardly chastised herself, trying to make herself to calm down and focus on the present. Responding to Brittany she forced out a fake giggle, to try and relieve some of her anxiety.

Why the hell had she agreed to spend so much time with such an impulsive person? She had tried to be spontaneous for once and look where that had gotten her… feeling so damn guilty for enjoying the presence of a girl who was completely crazy and uncontrollable.

_Good job Santana._

Nervously biting her lower lip and literally hugging the bed under her, she was slightly aware she wasn't feeling the pain of the laser anymore, if truth be told she hadn't for the whole exhausting thirty minutes that had passed since she had stepped into the tattooist's studio. All she had been able to do was to focus on the floor and try not to meet those blue eyes.

Brittany didn't seem to notice her uneasiness and general awkwardness, and for the first time Santana wasn't happy about someone not knowing her feelings. She absolutely had to say something; she totally just had to turn around face Brittany and tell her before the situation got any worse.

"I need to say something." She started but as soon as the last word escaped her mouth she closed her eyes feeling like the most stupid person on the planet. Santana couldn't see the blonde's reaction but she was pretty sure she was giggling or smirking.

"Shoot." She said. The tone of voice was always calm and detached and Santana found herself wondering how the girl managed to always seem so relaxed. "As long as you stay still" she added firmly. The girl was still handling a laser on her skin after all and the fact that Brittany was focused on her skin rather than giving Santana her undivided attention, made this conversation a little easier.

"I wanted to talk to you about what happened at the Sunday brunch last weekend" Santana rushed out in one breath and quickly realized she had not thought this conversation through properly. Santana jolted as she heard a dull noise, but soon realized that it was just Brittany placing the laser on the table and opening a drawer probably looking for the healing gel.

"Did I miss something?" Brittany said with a teasing tone while she was undoing the cap of the gel.

"I-I…" Santana rolled her eyes, annoyed with the fact that she was already uncomfortable, but she needed to tell her to stop with the teasing.

_Come on San, you can do it._

"…It's just the way you teased me. I think it was a little bit inappropriate" she had never been so grateful to be lying on a bed face down, otherwise she wasn't sure that her legs would have been able to hold her up. She could feel her heart beating in her stomach against the bed and waited a couple of seconds to check the tattooist's reaction but Brittany didn't say a word.

"Look, I get the whole teasing and mocking thing but when you touch my hand in that way its overstepping and I'm not okay with that." She spoke trying to come across strong and confident.

She squeezed her eyes together bracing herself for Brittany's response. To Santana's surprise Brittany didn't mock her, the blonde let just out a sigh, but no real words came out of her mouth. For a second Santana had the illusion that she had won a small battle and had effectively made her point clear to Brittany. The answer she was desperately waiting for arrived just a few moments after, but in a way she couldn't have imagined.

Her muscles were still tense and ready to catch any imperceptible signs that might give her some hint as to how the blonde was taking her speech. Santana suddenly froze as she felt the chilly sensation of some drops of gel landing on her back. The blonde girl was still completely silent Santana could only just hear her sigh a few inches away from her. As Brittany's hand touched her skin, she couldn't help but cringe wondering what was really going on in her mind. An audible sigh escaped her lips and her palms wrapped around the edges of the table, while she desperately tried to not enjoy what was happening.

Despite the gel being cold, her skin felt like it was burning under the slight pressure. No one had ever had this kind of power over her before. But the fact that the tattooist hadn't answered at all was weighing heavily on her. Brittany started rubbing the gel all over the damaged skin, but all Santana could feel was the amazing sensation of the blonde's soft skin brushing and massaging her back. The way she could make her feel with just a simple touch, indescribable.

Her heart was beating so crazy against her ribcage that she swore she could feel it vibrating against the bed and a warm sensation was already spreading in her stomach confirming how great she made her feel.

"Uhmg..." she stuttered as Brittany applied a lit bit more pressure on her skin, massaging it in a circular motion with her thumbs. It was clearly a different technique from how you would expect a doctor to apply a healing gel, it was…incredible.

A throbbing sensation was slowly growing in Santana's lower limbs making it almost unbearable.

_Oh, fuck._

Was this Brittany's way of answering her issue? She knew she was supposed to say or do something to make her stop, but she was hypnotized by Brittany's magical hands.

A hot flush of blood reached her face as she realized that the touch of Brittany's hand was sending goosebumps to every inch of her body. She needed to stop, she needed to run away from this place and never look back.

Her heart skipped a beat as she felt the blonde's breath getting closer and heavier.

About three minutes had passed in utter silence but she swore it felt like an eternity

Santana rolled her eyes to the back of her head in a desperate attempt to figure out where the blonde was and she almost passed out as Brittany grabbed the hand that was still holding the edge of the bed and got closer.

_Oh, god._

Her body shuddered when she felt the tip of Brittany's nose brushing her lobe. What the hell was she doing?

"Afraid you may like it?" Brittany whispered huskily into her ear making her shiver.

_Fuck, fuck._

She heard the blonde giggle satisfied, but all she could feel was the warmth of the tattooist's breath hitting the back of her neck. Santana's mind was already blurred by everything that was happening, she really couldn't handle anymore.

"Brittany…" the blonde's name escaped almost imperceptibly from her full lips, the tone was desperate and begging. Luckily for her the girl got that message and let her go. As soon as she felt free, she didn't waste any more time and quickly jumped off the bed and turned to face the blonde, still panting.

"What the hell is you fucking problem? I was sure I was speaking English!" Santana almost yelled.

"Hey I was just messing with you! Relax!" Brittany said quickly hinting a smile. How could she always manage to be so calm and serene like nothing was going on?

"No you're being unprofessional!" Santana said with an accusing tone and pointed her finger at Brittany to emphasize her point, but all she got in response was a laugh.

"Unprofessional? Am I a counselor or something?"

"I'm your client. You should behave differently." Santana explained, her heart was desperately asking for a break from all the stress. "I get that you told me that you are the ultimate badass and that this is who you are and blah, blah, blah, but enough!"

Brittany was now looking at her, with a frown painted on her face. Maybe for the first time since she had met her she had managed to leave her speechless.

"This is starting to become annoying."

"This has nothing to do with the fact that I'm teasing you…"

"It has everything to do with that!" Santana argued.

"No Santana, this is all about you not being able to control something."

Santana was immediately hit by that sentence. What the hell was she talking about?

"What?"

"It must be exhausting for you not being able to control someone for the first time in you life, huh?"

"You have no idea what you are talking about!" Santana almost screamed back. This girl had absolutely no right to tell her such things. Control something or someone? Was she being serious? She was barely able to control her own life.

Santana lowered her gaze trying to hide the tears that were rapidly covering her eyes.

"Santana it's not my fault if in the past three years you have practically controlled yourself to the point you don't even recognize yourself anymore and now that you have found something you can't control you panic, but you have a-"

"Stop" Santana pleaded in a whisper. "…you don't even know me so don't you dare talk about something you know nothing about." She said while gathering her stuff and trying to control her heartbeat. She forced herself to stop and lift her head to meet Brittany's clear eyes. "I'll see you next week." She added before turning herself and walking out of the studio. She increased her pace feeling two tear drops running down her cheeks.

_May 3_

_2:00 pm _

Brittany S. Pierce closed the jar that contained the colored ink and carefully put it back in the drawer next to her desk. The lunchtime customer had finally got out of her shop and she could use some rest before the next one arrived. She wasn't tired she just needed some alone time, to think and make peace with her mind. She had never been a talker at all and a two hour sessions with a fat middle aged bartender hadn't been two hours helped her relax at all.

She took a black pencil with a soft tip and started sketching some random lines on a white sheet. Drawing had always calmed her down in an inexplicable way.

"Hey jellybean, what are you up to?" Sugar asked stepping in.

Despite the fact she really wasn't feeling like socializing, Sugar was an exception. She was like her little sister and she was the only person in the world who loved her for who she really was even with all her defects.

"Hoping for some peace and quiet" She replied winking at her. Sugar giggled approaching her and placing a sweet kiss on her forehead.

"I can watch you draw" she lowered her gaze. "weird lines in silence."

"Good." Brittany replied, eyes still glued to was she was drawing. Three seconds of silence passed and her friend inevitably broke the silence.

"So how are the sessions with your new fancy customer going?" Sugar questioned scanning her eyes over the studio, trying to avoid Brittany's black look.

"Are talking about Santana?"

"Whoa, you are already calling her Santana."

"Shut up weirdo." Brittany replied snorting.

"Ouch, someone is touchy today, huh?" Sugar said jumping off the chair and getting closer to hug her in a tight embrace. If anyone had done something like that to her she would have probably killed them and hidden the body, but since Sugar was the one hugging her she couldn't help but smile.

"Don't you want to confess to your very, very best friend that you actually like that girl?"

"No!" Brittany exclaimed. "No. Coz that would mean lying."

"Ah, right." Sugar replied with a snort and the tattooist playfully bit her on the shoulder.

"Hey Brittany." Puck greeted drawing her attention to him as he approached the desk where the two girls were sitting.

"I've found this diary on your desk and I know it's not yours." He said holding in one hand a little black notebook.

Brittany immediately rolled her eyes up to the sky. It must have Santana's one. She was the only one who had been in her studio in the last 24hrs and she must have left it there accidentally.

"It's Santana, for sure."

Sugar with a quick movement, pulled the little book into her hands.

"Hey." Puck grumbled.

"Let's open it." She suggested excitedly, but before she could do anything Brittany grabbed her wrist and made her place the diary on the table.

"No, it's her personal diary and it wouldn't be right." She argued surprising herself with her own words.

"Wow, are you protecting her?" Puck asked mocking her.

"No, it's just I don't want any more trouble than I already have thanks to you two! So we won't open this damn book and we'll hand it to her next week. Am I clear?"

"Yes mummy." Sugar replied playfully.

"But what if she needs it?" Puck said "And plus…don't you want to know what's in it?"

She really did, she really wanted to know what was going on in the Latina's life but it was too soon for her to admit that. Teasing and mocking her was easy and entertaining but somehow, Brittany had the feeling she was playing with a small fire that was about to start spreading.

She took the little book in her hands and studied it for just a second as though it would give her some kind of answer.

"Ok then." She said. "But I'll read it in my office." She replied standing up and approaching the corridor that was leading to her private studio.

She smiled when she heard Sugar comment. "You know, the part of the good girl doesn't suit you at all!"

_07:00 pm _

"See you on Friday Santana?" Her Brunette friend Daisy asked. She had met Daisy after the accident and her mum liked her which made her a great gym buddy. Daisy was a lawyer, working with her father, and that was also meant two other important things, firstly she was rich enough to be her friend and secondly they were more or less shared the same schedule.

Santana lifted her gaze to look directly at her friend whilst she stayed sat on her yoga mat.

"Sure" she replied smiling with a polite tone.

The other girl smiled at her back. "Perfect, sorry but I have to run now. I have a dinner with my parents and you know my dad, he doesn't like to wait."

"Aha, I know. Don't worry." Santana said freeing the girl from her company.

She was supposed to stand up and get out of the room since the class was over and everyone was leaving, but she remained where she was, on the floor, staring at the mat and thinking. Why was dealing with other people so easy? Why was everyone so nice and polite with her while the only person that was occupying her thoughts was acting like a real ass all the time? But mostly why the hell was that so important? She was living in a world where being insulted was normal and she knew it, and she didn't even want everybody to like her, but she was obsessed with that damn blonde. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't stop thinking about her and the way she was making her feel.

Ironically she was the only one who was able to turn her on with just a touch and to make her feel like the worst person in the world at the same time. Why in the hell had she met her? Why the hell did the only person who was capable of removing her damn tattoo have to be such a douchebag?

Santana shook her head trying to push the image of Brittany massaging her to the back of her mind. She had the whole week in front of her and that meant five days before she had to see her again.

She finally got up to leave and stepped out of the room where she had been attending yoga for the past hour and started walking through the corridor that led to the locker room.

She was still mulling over what she had to achieve that week at work and which events she should have to attend when her attention was pulled away by someone calling her.

"Hey stranger_"_ the voice said. Santana didn't even need to turn to check who was speaking to her, from the shiver that had quickly run down to her spine she was well aware that Brittany was probably standing a few feet away from her.

She slightly lifted her gaze, closed her eyes and took a breath in preparation for whatever was about to happen.

She took her time, before turning right to see the tattooist standing near her, leaning against the door of one of the rooms used to host some kind of class.

"Hi Brittany" she said quickly hoping for the meeting to be over fast. She had been working the entire day, she was tired and she had absolutely no intentions of fighting tonight.

"What are you doing here?" she asked even though the answer was pretty obvious.

"You forgot your diary." She said shrugging "and thought you may need it."

"Oh." she replied, she hadn't even noticed that it was missing. "Thank you." But then she frowned, how the hell could she even known how to find her here at this time of day.

"Wait, have you read it?" she asked.

Brittany grinned nodding. "I needed to know where to find you."

"You could call! You have my number." Santana argued.

"Oh come on Miss Lopez, I was just trying to do something nice."

"Wait you, what?" Santana replied but then she stopped, she really didn't want to fight. "That's bullshit! You just wanted an excuse to go through my stuff."

"Oh, Santana you shouldn't use those bad words. It is really inappropriate." She said teasingly, causing Santana hint a smile, that girl was really impossible to decipher.

"Fine, I'll just believe you and accept this gesture as an apology for the way you acted yesterday."

"No I wasn't" Brittany tried to argue "fine, okay, let's pretend I'm here to apologize. But I swear to god _Barbie_ if you tell someone, two years from now someone will find your body in a landfill."

Santana smiled. "Got it." Then she noticed that Brittany wasn't wearing her classic badass dresses but a big black hoodie that probably belonged to Puck since it was way too big for her.

"Why are you wearing that?" she asked.

Brittany lowered her gaze and turned around making a few steps until she entered the empty room.

"Since I was coming here I thought it was a good opportunity for a late workout." She explained letting her bag fall on the floor.

Santana, drawn like a moth to a flame followed her into the room.

"A workout, huh?" she asked confused since the room was empty and there were clearly no sign of a class about to start.

Brittany nodded and before Santana could realize what was happening she took off her hoodie. "Yep."

Santana almost dropped the yoga mat. Why did she have to look so fucking great and why the hell was she interested?

Brittany was wearing a pair of tight, black leggings and a white vest. Her silhouette was slim and perfectly toned.

Brittany turned whilst she bent down on her knees to look for something in her bag and Santana immediately reproached herself when her eyes dropped from the blonde's face to her ass.

_Santana, what the fuck are you doing_?

"Oh and since I've found you sooner than I expected" she started. "I could use a sparring partner." She said standing up with a couple of boxing gloves.

"What?" she was about to decline the offer but Brittany didn't give her the chance.

"Hey, before you say no, don't say no!"

"Are you on something? I've never boxed before!" Santana responded shaking her head but somehow her body wasn't hit with the overwhelming urge to run away that was usually associated with Brittany.

"I can always show you."

"No thanks."

"Santana, jeez what could possibly go wrong?" Brittany teased her throwing the gloves at her.

Surprising herself Santana managed to catch them.

"You are not taking no as an answer, are you?" she said looking at Brittany giggling at her. She wasn't supposed to be there with her, she needed to leave but her body was practically begging her to put on the gloves. What's the worse that could happen?

"Fine, but I have no idea what I'm supposed to do."

"I bet you wanted to punch me a couple of times, you can start with thinking about that." Brittany said getting a sly smile of Santana in return.

The blonde girl took a step back and signaled with her hand for Santana to move forward. Santana hesitated for a couple of seconds and was already reproaching herself for agreeing.

"Come on _Barbie_. Hit here." Brittany ordered lifting her right hand, palm wide open.

"I'm not hitting you."

"Oh come on. Give it a try. "

Santana snorted.

Psyching herself up She squinted her eyes trying to focus on the other girl's hand. It was just a little punch after all. She took a deep breath and then she simply let her arm move forward. She punched Brittany's palm with a quick sudden movement.

"Oh my god, have I hurt you?" Santana asked seriously concerned but all she got back was a light laugh form the tattooist.

"Hurt me? You barely touched me!" she said still mocking her. Santana immediately lowered her gaze.

"Again." Brittany said.

"But I…"

"Again" Brittany encouraged.

Santana obeyed trying to hit a little bit harder, but was paying attention so she didn't hurt the girl. She was wearing no protection at all and the last thing she wanted was to hurt somebody, even if the girl in question clearly deserved it.

"Better?" she asked pretty satisfied with her technique.

"It sucked. Santana you're not trying to stroke me, hit me, like I'm your worst enemy!" Brittany said out loud spreading both her arms inviting her to hit her.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"Oh, _honey. _You won't." she made a step ahead getting closer and Santana was about to step back but Brittany grabbed her left wrist. What the hell was she doing? Santana looked directly at her frowning, she had absolutely no idea what was going on.

She swore she saw a hint of a smile in those blue eyes that were always so captivating. Still holding her steady gaze Brittany lifted her hand until her fist was just next to her jaw. Santana was about to pass out, her legs were somehow still supporting her but she was pretty sure it wasn't going to last for long.

"Ok now lift the other one." She ordered and she couldn't help but follow Brittany's directions once again, completely hypnotized. "Ok right here." Brittany said helping her to place her other hand right below her chin.

"Now" she exclaimed making a step back. "…hit my hand. Hard."

"Ok, I can do this." Santana replied back and then she hit the blonde's palm a little harder.

"Again _Barbie, _come on prove to yourself that you're not weak and boring. Hit my damn hand."

Another punch, Santana sighed at the impact with the other girl's skin.

"Better" Brittany said making her smile. "…for a three year old child."

Santana snorted.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Do you think you can do better?"

"I don't have to prove anything to you!" Santana argued.

"No, but as long as you keep on hitting me like some rich girl who's too afraid to break a…"

Santana didn't wait for Brittany to finish the insult and she punched her harder.

"Oh, finally." The tattooist said rolling her hand, feeling the impact. "So you are not that snob, are you?"

"I am not!" she said out loud hitting the other palm.

"And you are not weak."

"NO."

Another punch.

"I am not weak." She repeated again.

"So, fight Santana!" Brittany replied pushing her fist back provokingly. "Or are you too afraid of standing up for your own life, huh?"

"You know nothing about me!"

Another punch, this time she almost missed her hand. Her mind was even more blurred than before, she suddenly felt a hot flush coming up from her lower limbs, filling her with a rage filled strength she had never experienced before.

For the first time she was aware of who she was. She was Santana Lopez and she hadn't to prove anything to anybody, a part from herself.

"From what I've seen you're just a scared spoilt little girl afraid of showing the world what she really is."

In that moment those words were too much for her to handle, this girl had absolutely no right to make that kind of assumption about her life, or who she was.

"Shut up!" She shouted back and there in the middle of the room of her fancy gym club her brain stopped thinking and her anger took over. She tried to punch Brittany's hand once again but this time she threw her whole body behind it. Obviously not expecting a strong response from Santana Brittany was unprepared when Santana suddenly hit her in the face with everything she had.

As soon as Santana realized what she had done she quickly stepped back shaking her head. She had never been a violent person, she had never been in a real fight in her entire life and she definitely had never punched anyone. She frantically rid of the boxing gloves but she couldn't move towards Brittany. She simply stood there.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" she asked trying to see from where she was stood if Brittany had any serious marks on her cheek. "I'm so sorry I didn't meant to…" she started to apologize, she even felt the urge to go and hug the girl but her words were cut off by the sound of a little giggle.

"Wow." Brittany said in her usual tone. "That was what I was talking about!"

God, was this girl able to take anything seriously?

"B-but are you okay?" Santana decided to ignore the teasing and took a few steps closer to crouch right next to her Brittany dramatically let herself collapse on the ground.

"Relax _Barbie,_ I am fine."

"I am so sorry. I didn't mean to."

"God, can you stop apologizing? It is so annoying!"  
"But I've just punched you in the face." Santana commented still checking on the girl's jaw.

"So? I deserved that!"

Santana was once again at a loss for words. She was incredible she never knew what she was about to do or say.

"So? How does it feel?" Brittany asked smiling at her, the Latina smiled back.

"Weird." She replied. "But so good." She added giggling.

"I told you." The tattooist said satisfied. "You should do it more often."

"Punching you?"

"Very funny, ha-ha" she commented with a smirk "Losing control."

She was right. She should.

"I don't know how to do that." Santana replied shaking her head, while staring at the floor.

"Yes you do, you just did it."

"Brittany my life hasn't been what a normal person would define exciting recently. I am used to living my routine, seeing the same people every day and not questioning my own existence."

"I get it, but you can always start with following your instincts, do the things you like in your spare time. You have to start taking care of yourself _honey, _otherwise you will die inside soon." Brittany explained with a calm and warm tone, she was really trying to give her good advice.

"I guess I could start with doing something I like."

"Yep, baby steps." The blonde agreed smiling and standing up. "Come on" she said stretching her hand to her. "I'll buy you a coffee."

Santana instinctively grabbed her hand and let the other girl pull her up. Wait was Brittany really asking her for a coffee?

"You don't have to."

"Let's just say this is my way of apologizing for the _unprofessional _things I will do." She replied winking at her, making her immediately blush.

Santana smiled awkwardly and turned herself to escape from the teasing.

"Barbie, one last thing" she heard the tattooist saying behind her back, she turned instinctively but didn't have enough time to process what was happening. The girl quickly grabbed her wrist, Santana tried to stop her but it was too sudden. With a firm movement Brittany pulled her closer and as she passed right in front of her, the blonde stretched a leg making her fall on the ground.

Santana let out a yelp of surprise as the tattooist landed right on top of her.

How the hell had that happened?

Santana looked up directly at Brittany with a questioning expression painted on her face. The girl simply smiled, starring at her lips.

"Why the hell did you do that?" she asked trembling, the weight and the warmth of the blonde body pushing against her was really too much for her to take.

Brittany hinted another smile and slid an inch up. She gasped for air, she fucking needed some air.

_Oh fuck._

Santana felt a warm shiver running down to her spine and travelling right between her legs.

"Cos _Barbie, _I just wanted you to know that I can take you any time I want." She whispered before standing up and approaching the entrance, leaving her there panting.

_What the actual fuck?_

"Are you coming?" she said right before walking out of the room.

Santana wanted so badly to stand up, but she was pretty sure she would have fainted.


	6. Chapter 6

_May 3_

_7.20 pm _

"Thank you" Santana replied almost whispering when the blonde tattooist gently handed her a cappuccino. She stretched out her hand to take it, accidentally brushing her pointer finger against the back of Brittany's hand. That simple skin contact immediately sent goose bumps down her back, making her heartbeat accelerate. She couldn't help but lower her gaze to try and hide the flush of blood rising to her face.

She suddenly felt the urge to say something to distract herself from her own embarrassment.

"Hey, I wanted to thank you again for the diary." she said already reproaching herself for showing any signs of thankfulness, especially to the person who had been trashing her for the past three weeks.

"No problem!" Brittany replied giggling.

"I can't' believe you actually read it!"

"Hey, I was just trying to find you! I had to read it!" Brittany replied rising her hands as a sign of innocence.

"Yeah right" Santana said snorting but smiling at the same time "And, if I may ask, have you read all of it?"

"If you want to know if I've read about what you thought of last week's session, then yes I have." At those words Santana giggled nervously trying again to hide her embarrassment.

_Fuck._

"I swear I've been called many different things in my life but, I really appreciated the _inked witch_ one." Brittany commented taking a sip from her cup.

"Wait, aren't you mad?"

"No Santana, it's funny."

Santana didn't answer she simply stared at the other girl, amazed.

"What?"

"Nothing…" she replied shaking her head. "You're kinda never how I'm expecting you to be."

"Is that good or bad?"

"Both I guess." Santana stated with a shrug and surprised herself for not being afraid to tell the girl the truth. She wasn't completely at ease but she was starting to enjoy the conversation. Of course, sitting less than one meter away from Brittany, was still a hard thing for her to handle, but somehow she found it a little bit more pleasant.

Brittany didn't reply, she simply looked directly at her and smiled with her beautiful blue eyes. Santana couldn't help but smile at her back, wondering why she found those blue gems so incredibly hypnotizing. But it wasn't just her eyes, it was her fruity scent, her gorgeous smile and her inked skin that was so soft but, somehow told a story, it was just, everything. Everything about this girl was so completely intoxicating.

"So any exciting plans for the weekend?" Brittany asked after a moment of silence.

"I wouldn't define my plans for the weekend exciting." She paused.

"Why? What are they?"

"Erm, Ray is so excited about this Saturday cos it's the party for his company and it's a huge deal. He has been organizing it since March, it's all he talks about and all he cares about right now!"

"What's it about?" Brittany asked showing some interest.

"This year his, well our, company reached the set budget plan two months earlier than we were expecting. So this is a wonderful time to throw a party and to thank all the people who work for Miller Inc."

"Well, it's still a party, sounds fun to me." Brittany said nonchalantly playing with her cup.

"Oh no, not at all! Firstly coz they all are my bosses but, I'm also the girlfriend of the CEO of the company. Secondly because they are Ray's friends and that means that I'm going to listen to very boring speeches about sailing, golf, or both." She paused for a second letting her head fall into her hands. "Plus, as I've just said, I'm the CEO's girlfriend and it means that I have to look great, elegant and beautiful in order to make Ray proud of me and I still have to find a dress."

Santana stopped again, checking for the tattooist's reactions to her words and all she got back was a frown.

"I know I should probably shut up and drink my coffee." She stated embarrassed.

"An outfit huh?" Brittany repeated ignoring her.

Santana rolled up her chocolates eyes at her and simply nodded.

"Why don't you wear a man suit?"

"What?"

Brittany nodded, convinced of what she was suggesting.

"I mean it's just perfect. You'll be surrounded by a bunch of powerful guys, why don't you look like them?"

That was probably the craziest advice she had ever listen to and despite the fact she was already picturing Ray's negative expression, she couldn't help but hint a smile.

"That is…" She stuttered.

"Brilliant?"

Santana smiled shaking her head. "Aha."

"Revolutionary?"

"Well I was about to say…"

But the tattooist interrupted her one more time. "Genius?"

"Crazy" Santana exclaimed quickly.

"It's not! It's brave and funny at the same time!"

"Brittany Ray doesn't want me to be brave he wants me to be"

"Ordinary?"

That word hit Santana like a cold shower in the early morning. Yes, Ray wanted her to be ordinary but she wasn't ready to admit it to Brittany and most importantly she wasn't ready to admit it to herself.

She was still mulling over what was the best way to answer to her comment when the blonde's words drew her attention again.

"Although, I don't know if it would be a smart idea either." She said changing her mind.

"What do you mean?" Santana asked frowning back.

"Just that if I were Ray and you were wearing a man suit I don't know if I would be able to control myself." She paused for a second but it was enough time for Santana to feel her heart accelerating, and feeling the blush rise again, she really needed to get a hold of her emotions.

Santana clenched her fingers around the cup tighter, trying to ease some of the tension that was quickly building inside her.

_Oh fuck._

"But" she started stuttering. Her mouth, already dry and she was finding speaking one of the hardest things ever. "You don't even like me." She managed to state in one breath.

Santana wanted so badly to look up to meet those blue eyes, but she resisted for the sake of her mental health. She tried to take a sip from her cup but lifting that mug felt like lifting a forty pound weight.

Santana had no idea what was painted on Brittany's face but she was pretty sure that it was something like her classic teasing beautiful smile.

"Well…" she replied giggling leaving the sentence incomplete for just enough time to make Santana wish she hadn't accepted this coffee trip. She quickly took another sip of her cappuccino to try to hide the fact that she was shaking and literally burning inside.

"…technically I don't really like you, but that doesn't mean I haven't thought about how tasting you would be, a couple of times." She added nonchalantly, with the calm of a person who was stating that the sky is blue.

Santana was ready for some teasing words but not that, not something so direct and wrong, and exciting at the same time. Her body couldn't hold the daze and Santana couldn't help but spit out the cappuccino that was still in her mouth and start coughing.

Why the hell that girl was so fucking direct and why the hell was she saying those inappropriate things to her. Santana's mind started working at its maximum rate.

Was she saying the truth? Why wouldn't she? Brittany was probably the most sincere person Santana had met, but she wasn't sure she was happy about that anymore.

Tasting you? What was that supposed to mean? Oh god, she knew exactly what it meant.

Unconsciously her gaze dropped from the blondes' eyes to her lips, and more precisely to her tongue piercing. She jolted at the thought of what that piercing could make her feel.

Her heart was hammering so badly against her ribcage that she was afraid it would escape from her chest at some point.

_Oh, you have no idea._

"I-I-" She narrowed her eyes trying to come up with something smart to say and at the end she opted for a plain "I'm nothing special."

Brittany quirked an eyebrow at her and her intense blue eyes danced around her face, momentarily stopping at her lips.

"Wow, Santana you are not able to accept compliments at all." The tattooist commented.

"Was that a hidden compliment?" She replied snorting but before Brittany could say anything else that could have put herself in a bad position once again. She tried to change the direction of the conversation.

"W-what are your plans for this weekend?"

"What makes you think I have plans?"

Santana rolled her eyes up to the ceiling, both annoyed and entertained by that answer.

"Do you?"

"I do actually" Brittany paused for a second and Santana suddenly realized how much she was waiting for something from those sweet lips. She literally craved for each word that would escape her mouth.

"There is the Redondo Beach Convention this weekend." Brittany explained but Santana couldn't help but answer.

"Never heard of it."

Brittany's eyes went wide and gave her a surprised look.

"It's the biggest tattoo convention of the entire valley, probably one of the most important one in America."

"I'm sorry for being so ignorant."

Then she frowned.

"What exactly is a tattoo convention?"

Brittany glared at her one more time, but then she smiled shrugging as she wasn't expecting her to be interested in the topic.

"It's a sort of gathering of all the greatest tattooists of America and sometimes we have people coming from England, Japan and other places. It's amazing it's like working while attending a party."

"Sounds fun."

"It is! And it's also the best way to promote your business and get more customers."

"Will you tattoo someone?" Santana asked already reproaching herself for the stupid question.

"I mean, of course you will it's a tattoo convention after all." She added making Brittany giggle softly.

"Yes I will, but this time I will mostly be concentrating on the competition." Luckily for her this time the blonde didn't wait for her to ask about it.

"It's like a normal competition with a jury and a podium, but all we have to do is tattoo someone. This year is the first time I'm doing it."

"Really, are you nervous?"

"No not really, more excited actually."

"From what I've seen you're pretty good, so why is this your first year?"

Brittany smiled again at her and Santana felt the knot in her stomach tightening. She was so astonished every time she was watching this girl smile, she wished she never stopped.

"Wow, thank you. You know the past two years I didn't feel ready. Despite the fact I may seem like a total mess, I'm a perfectionist and so I guess I didn't want to fail at something."

"Well, I'm sure you'll do great." Santana added hoping for another smile but this time she wasn't so lucky.

"Brittany." She said checking her watch. Damn it was so fucking late and Ray had probably already called her a couple of times to check where the hell she was. "I should go." She said with a little bit of pain in her heart, she really didn't want to leave.

"Yeah, me too actually." She agreed standing up and gathering her things.

Santana followed her standing up as well. They both stared at each other for a second before Santana lowered her gaze, pretending to be looking for her car keys.

"So… Thanks for the coffee."

"No problem, _Barbie_."

Santana smiled glaring at her.

"I really wish you could stop calling me that."

"Mm, I don't know if I'm ready to give up to this simple way of messing with you." She replied already turning on her heels and walking towards the entrance.

"You know..." She said suddenly stopping herself. For a moment Santana thought she caught a shaky tone in her voice. "I kinda had a great time today." She added making Santana smile even more.

"Me too."

"If you want to distract yourself before the business party Saturday afternoon…" She paused turning again and started approaching the door.

".. You know where to find me!" She added just before getting out and saying goodbye with a cool movement of her right hand.

Santana stood still for a second shaking her head beaming.

Even if Brittany was trying to hide behind her badass attitude, she was really starting to like her, but Santana couldn't help but wonder if that was a good or a bad thing.

_May 7_

_3.20 pm_

With a firm pace Brittany S. Pierce crossed the southern gate of the main pavilion, to find herself right in front of the wide parking area. The Redondo Beach area was huge and the event was held in different pavilions, each one hosting tattoo stands and gothic souvenir shops. She quickly turned left, to avoid any impact with the entering people and stopped about two meters away from the entrance. Brittany's eyes skated quickly up to the sky and she couldn't help but sigh happily at the sight of the sun. Today was indeed a wonderful day, or at least she was sure it would at least be a positive one. First because her stand was in the main pavilion and that was really a big thing for her, it was the first year that the organizers of the event had asked her to hold her stand in the main area and that meant only one thing, she was in the big leagues now. She had been in that place for just a couple of hours and she had already met all the greatest artists from the east coast and the legendary Mr. Wanderer from Japan.

"Already leaving pretty lady?" a male voice distracted her from starring up at the blue sky.

She rapidly rolled her at the guy standing a few steps away from her.

"Hey boss." She said smiling back at her tattooist friend G. He was a German guy who had moved to LA when he was 18 to try to build a career in the movie field and he had ended up tattooing people. Brittany had always respected him since he had been her first and only boss, as a matter of fact she had briefly worked in his studio when she was still trying to figure things out.

"My little Miss Pierce, look at you, an important stand in the main area and a competition coming up. You've come a long way, girl."

"And I have to thank you for that." Brittany replied letting the man hug her briefly.

"Thanks and good luck with your competition! I'll stop by your stand later, I've a _thing_ coming up tonight and I want to discuss it with you!"

"A thing huh where?"

"On the hills, it's a fancy party or something."

"Don't know G. I've stopped doing those things." Brittany said.

"As you wish, lady."

"Are you coming?" G asked pointing at the entrance with a movement of his hand.

"In a minute." She said smiling but the truth was that she was already annoyed by his presence, all she wanted was a moment alone from all the chaos. Actually all she wanted was to get outside, right at the southern gate where she would have a great view of the parking and of the people approaching the Convention's entrance.

"She's not coming." Another voice spoke interrupting her rambling thoughts. This time she didn't need to turn to know who was talking. She was a 100% sure that Puck was standing right next to her and was lighting up a cigarette.

"You know that smoking kills more than 5 million people per year?" she asked whilst choosing to ignore his previous statement.

"I know. I don't care." He replied with a light tone making Brittany want to punch him in the mouth so he wasn't able to inhale the cigarette.

"You should."

"You know that avoiding the question doesn't solve the real issue?"

"I'm not avoiding anything." Brittany said snorting trying not to look at him in the eyes.

"Do you know what really surprises me?"

"I can't wait to hear that" she said with her classic mocking tone even if she was aware of the fact that her sarcasm wouldn't get her anywhere.

"That the Brittany I know would never be anxiously waiting for someone to arrive, the Brittany I know would be inside and having fun."

Ok, maybe she was waiting for her, maybe she wanted to check if she was in the line or something. So? What was wrong with that? Santana seemed to be such an innocent, classy girl and maybe she really needed a hand to get inside a place full of tattooed people and weirdo's .

"I…" she tried to excuse herself but then she stopped. Fuck, she had never had explain her behavior to anyone and she definitely wasn't going to start today.

"I just needed some air."

"Right, you can prete-" but Puck didn't have the time to finish that sentence, or maybe he did but certainly she didn't manage to hear it.

The first thing her mind acknowledged was the thrilling noise of a 5.2 liter, V10 plus engine, capable of generating 550 hp that belonged to an Audi R8 and somehow she already knew who was arriving. The second input her mind was forced to deal with was the elegant image of the metallic grey car, entering her sight and approaching a free spot right in front of them.

"Is she?" Puck said rolling his eyes from the fancy car to her and again back to the fancy car.

Yes, she was _she_.

As she was expecting, the person inside the vehicle waited a couple of seconds before getting outside. Brittany was already smiling at the thought of the insecure girl in such a crazy environment when the car door opened and someone that looked like Santana Lopez got out. But Brittany couldn't believe it was actually Santana.

For the first time in years she realized she was excited and nervous at the same time. Despite the fact she was feeling absolutely amazing she noticed that her palms had started to get sweaty.

A completely different Santana Lopez was standing twenty meters away from her and all she was able to do was to look at her in disbelief. The Latina had her chocolate hair down and it was softly falling on her shoulders and this was probably the first time she hadn't seen it held in a classic bun. But that wasn't all she was wearing a pair of denim shorts, beige ankle boots and a white tank top that was enhancing her beautiful tanned skin.

That couldn't be the Santana Lopez she knew, that was a fucking hot chick who had just gotten out of a fucking hot car.

"I think I'm in love." Puck whispered probably staring at the same flawless image.

"Come on, let's go." Brittany suggested slightly punching him on the shoulder.

"Don't you want to wait for her?"

She wanted to, but she knew she shouldn't have.

"No, she'll find us." She said already approaching the entrance and reproaching herself for having invited Santana to attend something that meant so much to her.

_3.30 pm_

_Damn._

That was the exact word that crossed Santana's mind as the third man in the last five minutes walked right next to her dropping his gaze from her face to her chest, shyly coming out of her tank top.

She knew she shouldn't have wore something like this, but she wanted to be different, she wanted so badly to wear something normal, something casual, something that wasn't making her feel imprisoned.

But there she was, in the middle of a place teeming with people so fucking different from the boring ones she was used to dealing with.

These people may have been weird and odd but they were honest, direct, they were looking at her in the eyes (and occasionally staring at her boobs) but she could tell that all of them were real and most of all sincere.

Santana turned right without hesitation she knew, since she had checked the big map at the entrance of the convention, that in a couple of seconds she would see her. She blinked trying to remain focused and trying desperately not to blush. She really was trying to make a good impression for once. She looked great and Brittany was probably busy doing something, so getting there unnoticed and surprising her would be easy. Well, easy if she wasn't so damn nervous to see her again.

The past few days passed working and living her monotonous and monogamous life had been okay but a total waste of time since she hadn't seen Brittany. She knew that counting the hours that were separating her from her next session with the tattooist was wrong and inappropriate on so many levels but she didn't actually care. She wasn't hurting anyone, she had told herself she wasn't doing anything wrong since it was completely normal to long for something that was making her feel good and alive. She knew that sooner or later she would have had to stop that. But for now she had absolutely no intentions of stopping, plus she was completely sure of something, that feeling of intrigue she felt was probably temporary and it would eventually pass. She had absolutely no doubts about that.

As her feet turned the corner, she immediately saw the Urban Ink stand and she immediately saw the blond girl that had _temporally _stolen her sanity.

"Brittany." She whispered unconsciously as she started approaching her.

The tattooist was at work, completely leant forward on a person's back. She couldn't help but feel a vice to her stomach she realized that the _person _was actually a girl. Brittany looked so focused and relaxed at the same time, wiping off the ink from the girl with an elegant gentle movement that made Santana wish it was her instead.

She had her blonde hair gathered up in a fluffy bun, probably to stop it from interfering with her work, but she still looked absolutely adorable.

Santana slowed her pace since she didn't want Brittany to see her, she would have stayed there looking at her working for the entire afternoon but her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a tall man that suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Hey, you must be new here." He said and Santana immediately caught a slimy and not very reassuring tone.

"I-I am here to see a friend." Santana cut him off shortly hoping to get rid of him quickly but, apparently the guy, didn't get the hint.

"I've never seen you here. Welcome." He insisted with his flirtatious and annoying attitude.

"Thanks." She replied looking down but with one eye she managed to see the man lifting up his right hand.

She immediately felt a shiver running down her spine, at the thought that he was going to touch her. His vicious smirk was weighing on her.

"Hey!" a voice exclaimed out loud driving the man's attention. Santana hinted a smiled since she knew exactly who was talking. "You really don't want to touch her." She added firmly.

Santana couldn't help but to look up again to check both Brittany's and the other man's reaction. The tattooist was still focused on the girl she was tattooing and she hadn't moved her eyes from the drawing at all.

"Sorry Brittany. I didn't know she was with you."

_No wait, I'm not with her._

But Santana was smart enough to shut the fuck up and pretend to be _with her_.

Brittany nodded imperceptibly and that was the sign for the man to leave.

How was it possible that this skinny blue eyed blonde was able to win against such a tall creepy man, without even looking at him? Santana had no idea; it just seemed to cement the fact that Brittany was indeed amazing.

"Thank you." She said without saying hellofirst. She was trying not to feel so damn nervous but as the distance between the two of them decreased, her heart beat accelerated.

Brittany lifted her eyes up to her and smiled as she wanted to tell her _no problem._ "Hey you."

Santana looked down at the tattoo the girl she was working on and her heart skipped a beat. It was incredible. It was very simple, no colors, just black and white but it simply looked magical. The drawing represented a woman's face but it was like staring at a real picture. All those tiny details, the nuances, everything was just flawless and Santana could even perceive the sadness in the girl's eyes.

"Oh god Brittany." Santana almost whispered astonished, and receiving a frowned expression from the other girl.

"This tattoo is…" She didn't know how to put into words what she was feeling.

"Ok?" Brittany suggested.

"Ok? What are talking about! It's amazing, I don't even have the words to do it justice!" Santana exclaimed putting particular emphasis on the word amazing to make her understand that she really meant what she said.

"Thank you, Santana." Brittany said and for the first time Santana had the feeling that she was just about to blush or that something indeed was happening inside her but, her classic calm expression wasn't letting any emotions out.

"It means a lot." Brittany added making her blush immediately.

_Damn._

"You are going to win for sure."

"We'll see."

She paused.

"So what brings you here?" The tattooist asked directly even thought that was a stupid question since she knew why she was there.

Santana shrugged.

"Ray went to tonight's location to set something up and I was bored." She replied ending the sentence with a sincere sweet smile.

"I'm glad you came." Brittany admitted.

She's glad I came! Santana wanted so badly to answer that she was glad to be there but that would have been flirting and absolutely inappropriate. She wondered why the hell she had come there in the first place.

"Your tattooing skills…" She said pointing again at the tattoo on the girl back to divert the attention from the possible flirting atmosphere. "Are amazing."

"_Barbie,_ if you don't stop saying nice things to me I might start liking you." Brittany replied teasingly.

Instinctively Santana tilted her head, while a hint of a smile approached her face.

"Wow and then all my dreams would finally come true!" She said holding Brittany's steady gaze with the same mocking tone of the tattooist. Brittany's eyes immediately went wide as she heard those words and her grin turned into a surprised smile.

"Oh wow. Ladies and gentlemen Santana Lopez finally made a joke!"

Santana just giggled in response.

"So, have you found an outfit for tonight then?" Brittany asked helping the other girl to get up from the table and freeing her for about half an hour.

She had actually but she didn't want to admit to her that she had followed her advice. She had absolutely no intentions of following a fashion suggestion from a girl who usually only wore a t-shirt and worn jeans. But then the following day she was walking down the street and passed one of her favorite boutiques, where she noticed a wonderful white jacket and Brittany's words had quickly popped into her mind. So that night she was going to wear a pair of white elegant trousers with a white jacket and black heels.

"Yes, it's nice." She said trying not to reveal too much.

"Great. You can go like this though." Brittany replied making her blush immediately but at the same time the knot in her stomach tightened its grip at the thought of Brittany noticing her outfit.

"Yeah, right."

"Why not? You look incredibly hot in this outfit." Brittany insisted and for a second her gaze dropped to her lips making her feel a sense of uncomfortable dizziness throughout her body.

The correct answer to that statement would be to tell her that she had dressed like that for her but obviously she opted for a nervous high pitched giggle.

"What?" Brittany asked.

"Nothing, it's just- you are a very direct person."

"I can always lie and say that I haven't been staring at your legs for the past ten minutes."

And there she went again. Gosh, could she just stop being fucking shameless? That was probably too much to ask to a girl who had a dragon tattooed on her back that reached her ass and probably even lower. But she needed her to stop, Santana already felt like she was about to pass out and it was making her want more.

"Let's talk about the convention. Ok?" She proposed to save herself.

"K."

"How's it going so far?"

"Great! I've been tattooing most of the time and I've spent the rest wandering around and admiring the other's techniques."

"It doesn't seem that you need to learn anything." Santana argued still amazed by the realism of the drawing she had seen a couple of minutes before.

"Ok you really are trying to make me blush."

Santana's stomach squirmed at the image of the blonde's cheeks getting pinker because of something she could say.

"But you have to know that tattooing techniques are always improving and every year you have to update your skills if you want to survive in this world."

"Oh, I see." She said nodding. "I wish I could do something 100 times less amazing than what you have just done."

Brittany beamed at those words and Santana wished she would never stop.

"Come on!" She ordered inviting her to step into the urban ink stand. "I'll show you!"

"Show me what exactly?"

"How to tattoo people!" Brittany explained as if she was talking about teaching her how to ride a bike.

"Oh no, no Brittany I can't tattoo someone!"

At that answer the blonde burst into a loud laugh that made her seem even more adorable.

"Do you really think I was going to let you tattoo someone?" She shrugged. "I'm crazy but not that crazy."

She added while Santana made the two steps that were separating her from the other girl.

She lowered her gaze reproaching herself for being so damn stupid, but her brain still wasn't able to function properly when she was within touching distance of the blonde.

"Here" the girl said pointing at the leg rest with wheels right in front of the work table.

Santana wanted to argue that she didn't feel like learning such a difficult thing in front of everyone, since she had noticed that people were constantly approaching the stand and Puck and Sugar were there probably talking with possible customers. She took the seat where the girl had suggested and Brittany softly placed both her hands on her shoulders.

At the contact with the smooth skin Santana couldn't help but feel her heart begging for mercy, starting to beat uneasily against her chest.

"Ok so, if you had to tattoo someone what would you use?" Brittany asked, hands still on the shoulders.

How the hell was she supposed to think while the only thing her mind was able to process was the sensation of Brittany's hands applying pressure to her skin.

"I don't know. This I guess." She replied pointing that a tattoo gun on the table.

"Correct and then?"

"Ink?" She was feeling so damn stupid in that moment because she wasn't able to understand if Brittany was really trying to teach her something or if this was another way to mess with her.

"Sure! Pick a color you like."

Santana instinctively opted for the black plastic bottle.

"Wow, very punk of you." Brittany commented lightly squeezing her shoulders.

Why the hell was she still touching her?

"Ok." She said finally lifting her hands up from her collarbone.

"We need a guinea pig now!" She said teasingly stepping aside to look or something in her bag.

"And I think we have a candidate." She stated placing a yellow apple in front of her.

Santana's eyes skated up to her glaringly.

"Seriously? Do you really want me to tattoo an apple?"

"You want to learn how to do it or what?"

Santana snorted. "Fine!" She replied letting her win and picked up the gun.

Brittany took the ink bottle and spilled a small quantity of it in the small plastic container.

"Ok, Barbie, dip the needle in the ink and when you are ready press on that footswitch to activate the needle."

Santana nodded taking a deep breath, was she really just about to mark an apple for the rest of its life? She shook the end unbelieving that she had agreed to do something like this in the first place.

She pressed the button with her left foot and she heard the unmistakable sound of the needle being activated.

"Oh, fuck." She said as she trying to draw a little star on the apple peel but all she could do was pierce it too deeply.

"Yeah, you applied too much pressure." Brittany agreed with a teasing laugh then, she did something Santana wasn't ready for. She sat on the other leg rest and with a sharp movement she slid aside to land right behind her.

Santana let out a surprised breath as she girl got closer and literally hugged her with both her arms.

"You have to understand that it's all about the pressure." She said but in that moment the Latina could only concentrate on the pressure of Brittany's chest against her back.

_Oh my fucking god._

There they were again. Touching! This was definitely too much.

With a gentle movement Brittany took the gun from Santana's hand.

"Could you press the footswitch for me, please?" she almost whispered in her ear making her jolt.

She would do anything for her, she knew that.

Santana obeyed almost holding her breath. She had fallen into a catatonic state and thoughtlessly she observed Brittany's hand drawing a perfect circle on the fruit peel.

"See? Your turn now." She said handing her the gun but not moving away from her.

Santana took it shakily and swallowed thickly. Why the hell did she always find herself in these situations? Santana's mind went black again as the intoxicating fruity scent of the blonde arrived at her nose.

Fuck.

A tress of the blonde's hair was delightfully tickling her shoulder sending goose bumps down her side.

Santana quickly pressed the activating button to try and wake her mind up.

"Ok, be careful now." Brittany said again placing her chin on her shoulder and her hand wrapping around Santana's one.

Ok this was too much. She needed to run away from her but she knew her body was refusing to leave the tattooist ever again.

"Be gentle." Brittany whispered again into her ear producing a vibrating wave quickly running down her body, right towards her stomach, exciting it.

Santana, almost shaking, had managed to mark an S on the apple without even realizing.

"Good girl" Brittany commented.

"Brittany…" Santana said begging, she didn't even know what she wanted to say, but luckily for her she didn't have the time to process it since they both were distracted by the sound of Santana's cell ringing.

"Ugh, I should answer."

"You should." Brittany agreed standing up.

"H-hello?" Santana said with the hand holding the phone still shaking.

"Where the hell are you?"

She immediately recognized a very angry Ray's voice.

"I-I'm out." She stuttered looking down.

"Oh I've noticed that! Come home! I need you to help me to get ready for tonight!" he said with a firm tone.

"But it's early!" Santana argued, already upset at the thought of leaving the other girl there. She really wanted to be there when the judges would have announced Brittany the winner of the convention's competition.

"Santana fuck. Are you arguing with me? You know how much this event means to me so, I'm asking you nicely, take your fucking car and come home!" He screamed over the phone and she could tell that Brittany had heard each word since she instinctively glared her.

"Ok Ray, I'll be back in fifteen mins." She said before hanging up and rolling her eyes at the blonde.

"I'm sorry Brittany I have to go now."

"You don't have to do what he wants you to do, you know that right?" Brittany said ignoring her previous sentence.

"I, I know. He is just stressed for tonight and he needs me."

"But he has just treated you like shit!"

"He, er…" she really wanted to excuse him but she didn't even know what to say to try to convince Brittany. She wasn't even sure that Ray deserved her to go back, but she knew she had no choice.

"Santana you should allow no one to treat you like that. Do you want me to do something?" Brittany insisted.

"Oh, no, please stay out of it." She said gathering her things. "See you next week." She said quickly before turning on her heels and running away.

And as she had arrived in that incredible way she was already gone, all because of that moron. She had listened to every word that fucking rich man had used ordering Santana to run back home, and he had been nothing but rude and unfair. Brittany took a deep breath. Santana had told her to stay out of it. It was her life after all. She wasn't even supposed to care about it but unconsciously she had already picked up her phone.

"Hey G." she said when the man picked up. "I need to talk to you about something."

* * *

**hey guys! thank you so much for the reviews and all the feedback! i hope u like the story!**

**xxx**


	7. Chapter 7

_May 7_

_4.00 pm_

Santana slowly crossed the threshold of her house but for the first time in the past three years it didn't exactly feel like home, she didn't feel relieved to be back where she was supposed to feel safe and she most definitely wasn't happy to be back in the company of her boyfriend.

Ray, as soon he heard the noise of someone walking downstairs, popped out from the staircase and rushed at her. Santana unconsciously took a step back as her body tried to overrule her mind and make her leave.

Ray approached her, but she could sense hesitation in his movements and she just stood still afraid to alter an already tense atmosphere. He stopped right in front of her, staring her in the eyes and she did the same, fearlessly.

"Honey, I am so sorry for what happened before." he admitted hugging her, not even waiting for her permission.

"Ray.." Santana whispered, overwhelmed by his tight hug.

She wanted to tell him that everything was fine and that she really understood the party was important to him. She wanted to be supportive and understanding, but in that moment all she could think about was thanks to his stupid party, she was probably missing Brittany's competition and that was just not acceptable.

She had never been a selfish person, quite the opposite actually, she was always trying to be helpful and try to put others needs first before her own, but this wasn't right. She wasn't supposed to feel obliged to be here with Ray when her mind was somewhere else, with someone else.

"It's ok Ray." she said sweetly caressing him on the back of his head.

"But don't do it again." she stated firmly.

"Oh come on, don't talk me like that." Ray replied and even though the tone was still calm and relaxed Santana detected an annoyed nuance in his words.

"Like what Ray? You yelled at me just because I was out on a Saturday afternoon when you were at that place doing God knows what!" Santana said stepping aside to get away from him. "What was I supposed to do!? To wait for you until you were finally back?"

"Hey, jellybean please calm down. I've already told you that I'm sorry."

"I don't want you to be sorry Ray, I want you to understand that I'm not a fucking possession! You cannot tell what to do and when to do it!" She insisted louder making him freeze at the sight before him.

"Babe…" He said trying to remain calm but Santana knew him and she was a 100% sure that he was not liking what he was being told at all. He loved to control her, he had always wanted to be a part of every aspect of her life, but sometimes Santana was left wondering if it was for true interest or just to control her.

"..I was expecting you to be on my side today. You know how much it me-"

But Santana interrupted him. She had absolutely no idea what was happening to her, she had absolutely no clue on why the hell she was screaming at her boyfriend who had just apologized to her.

The only thing she knew was that she couldn't stop

"Ray. It's just a fucking party, and I don't give a fuck about it! What the fuck can a party mean to someone who has already organized hundreds of events? So don't blame me for having gone outside for a couple of hours instead of staying home mulling over what I should wear tonight, ok!?"

She shouted in one breath and she could feel her heart almost exploding from her chest. Ray was still looking at her, his gaze was expressionless, revealing almost nothing to her.

"Oh and I forgot to tell you! I'm wearing a man's suit tonight. End of discussion." She finished.

"Wow." He commented. "I've never seen you like this."

It was true and she had absolutely no idea where this girl had come from. She was reminded a little bit of that old Santana Lopez she used to like.

"Is everything all right?" He asked visibly concerned.

"Sure, why wouldn't it be?" She replied snorting.

"I don't know Santana, you seem different. You have said _fuck_ like four times in the last ten minutes. That's not you. Are you sure that seeing that tattooist isn't bad for you?"

Ray asked trying to get closer but all he got in response was her stepping back frowning.

No, no, no. He had wanted her to have that tattoo removed, he couldn't change his mind, couldn't make her interrupt her therapy now it had started, but most importantly he couldn't take Brittany away from her.

Santana suddenly felt her legs go weaker at the thought of losing the only person who was making her feel alive for the first time after so long.

"Bad? Are you out of your mind? I barely talk to her." She quickly lied and rushed to him to get both his hands and looked directly at him with a pleading expression. "I'm sorry Ray, I'm just a little bit nervous about tonight as well." She continued lying. She had no idea why the hell she was behaving like this.

"Are you?"

Santana nodded. "I'll be at your table and it means that I'll be with all my bosses and.."

But Ray didn't let her finish, he lifted one hand and gently caressed her on the cheek. "Oh honey, you don't have to worry about that. It's going to be fine I'll be there, right next to you." He said hugging her one more time.

"I know. Thank you." She said before trying to push him gently away but instead what she got was a kiss. At the contact with Ray's lips all her muscles stiffened and her first reaction was to run away. What the hell was happening to her and why did kissing her boyfriend feel so damn weird?

_May 7_

_9.45 pm_

Santana rolled her eyes up to the ceiling for the nth time in the past thirty minutes as Ray and the executive sales manager started the devastatingly boring discussion about the golf match that had taken place the previous weekend. She had tried to think about a less interesting topic but she was unsuccessful in finding one as boring as that.

She hinted a fake smile as the manager made a comment regarding a mistaken score that seemed to be very funny if Ray's exaggerated laugh was anything to go by.

The evening was going well so far, if well meant listening to those boring speeches and pretending to be having fun.

Yes, the evening was simply going as expected if it wasn't for every tiny detail annoying her like a thorn stuck in her side, slowly torturing her. She couldn't stop looking at her phone every two seconds.

She wasn't expecting any calls or texts, she was simply staring at it because all she could think about the whole evening was how much she wanted to text the blonde tattooist.

She wanted so badly to know how the competition had gone, she already knew that Brittany had won, that tattoo was too well done not to win a prize but she wanted to hear it personally from her.

She wanted to hear the happy sound of her voice when she would tell her the news, so why the hell didn't she just call her? Why was she so hesitant?

Brittany was just a friend and well, actually she was a person she barely knew rather than a real friend. But that still didn't explain why she was so nervous about letting Brittany know she was interested in knowing something about her.

Her brain was suddenly shaken by the unmistakable sound of her cell buzzing on the table. She immediately got a dark look from Ray for having her phone out.

"Sorry." She whispered. Sighing she took the phone excited for the distraction and yet she was resigned because she was well aware that when she unlocked her phone, the person texting her wouldn't be who she so desperately wanted it to be, Brittany.

She snorted silently as she laid her eyes on her mum's words.

_Got fresh meat today, do you and Ray want to join us for a Sunday barbecue tomorrow?_

How about fucking no?! But she knew that Ray would have probably got the same text and she also knew that he loved her parents and barbecues as well so the best way to act was not to answer and hope the invitation would be postponed.

With a slow natural movement Ray tilted his head in her direction and whispered.

"Can you please put that thing away?"

Santana turned herself to stare at him directly in the eyes and Ray didn't look away either. For a second Santana tried to search his eyes for the answers she had been seeking the past 3 years. Was he the right person for her? Was this what all the poets wrote about, that all consuming love? This time would be no different either, Ray just blinked and rolled his gaze back to the person he was talking to oblivious to her internal dilemma.

No, maybe this wasn't the best moment to look for enlightening answers.

She snorted, uncaring to be heard by her boyfriend, placing her cell phone back in her purse, but as she was just about to look up again, ready to fake her enjoyment and endure countless boring conversations with Ray's colleagues, something weird happened. Something it seemed was trying to save her from this evening.

All the lights of the huge dinner room went off simultaneously causing an increasing murmur among the guests.

"What the f-" Santana heard Ray whispering, but she was already too busy processing her vivid desire of going home sooner than expected.

She couldn't help but smile at the funny coincidence that the light was missing at an energy company's party.

"Ladies and Gentlemen please remain calm and I'm sure this will be over in a minute." Ray said standing up, or at least Santana figured he was since she heard firm movements right next to her.

Ten seconds of total darkness passed before something completely unexpected happened again. From the room speakers a classic melody interspersed with low, vibrating pitches started playing, causing the murmur to increase even more. She even heard the noises of other people standing, chairs moving and shoes' walking in god knows what direction.

What was really going on? It didn't seem like a normal black out and that couldn't be the music an operator would choose to calm people since the low pitches were really intense, it was as if they wanted to herald the arrival of an omen.

"Ray, is this something organized?" an unidentified man asked.

"Not that I am aware of." Ray replied quickly, he was still standing still next to her.

The atmosphere was surreal, it was calm and electrical at the same time since people weren't actually running or trying to move in the darkness, but everyone in the room were curious as to what was going on.

Suddenly a light switched on and was beaming straight towards the entrance of the room and Santana quickly turned her head, narrowing her eyes in the same direction. She frowned as she realized that it wasn't just a beam of light there were different ones, each one increasing its intensity with each passing second. They seemed like electrical torches approaching the entrance.

_Good._

There must have been other staff members, running to their rescue and that only meant one thing, she would be home quicker than expected.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, the men got into the room, the music was still playing but she had time to get used to it.

The first silhouette she noticed was wearing black or dark, trousers and a hoodie which was weird since this place was really elegant and classy. Even the parking valet was obliged to wear a shirt and a suit.

After just a moment her eyes rapidly caught sight of another person wearing the same outfit and it didn't take long for Santana to realize that more than thirty people, all dressed in dark clothes and holding a torch, had just entered in the place and were quickly walking toward their central round table.

Her left hand unconsciously clenched around the backrest tightly, as she tried to ease some of the tension that was quickly building inside her.

What the hell was happening? Who were those men? Why the hell were they walking towards them?

Suddenly all the men pointed the light beams against Ray, having the same effect as a huge spotlight. Santana could see his expression, a mix of fear, anger and disbelief.

Santana could tell that Ray had absolutely no idea about what was going on at his party and probably, knowing him, it was starting to piss him off.

The group of lights continued to move quickly towards them and each meter they gained Santana began to feel more and more uncomfortable. The music wasn't helping at all even though it was suited perfectly to the surreal atmosphere.

What did they want? She had absolutely no idea but she knew she was about to find out.

The leader of the group, or at least she figured he must have been the main member since the man was leading the mysterious group and walking in front of his army, stopped a few inches away from them and as she expected, his followers did the same.

"Ray Miller." the man exclaimed making her tremble from the power of his voice.

From the corner of her eyes Santana managed to notice her boyfriend stood still, not hinting any signs of a reaction. This was his typical behavior, not letting anyone see what he was feeling and was his classic way of dealing with situations. It was ok most of the time as well but lately Santana had started to feel like something was missing in their relationship.

"That's me." Ray replied firmly and fearlessly holding the imaginary gaze of the man in the hood.

Santana let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding for the entire time.

"What the hell do you want?" he added in his classic defiant tone he used to talk to his employees.

Santana, sitting at the edge of her chair, stiffened all her muscles. Why was Ray always so arrogant? They were clearly in a position of disadvantage and despite that he was talking as if he was the one in control.

"Ray, don't.." she tried to scold him but the man in the hood interrupted her attempt.

"I notice that you use insolence both in your public and private life." the man said. "How is it possible that you are here tonight to celebrate the achievement of reaching your targets two month in advance and yet the energy costs in the country are increased by three percent from last year?"

Santana now understood what this was about, she had even read about this group in the newspaper. She knew that, in the past years, multimillionaire companies had been targeted by a group of anarchists who were protesting the increasing economic gap between the high class of the country and the lower class.

The irony was that most of the times she had found herself agreeing with those people, but now she wishes she had read more about those protest and what happened at them.

Ray didn't answer those provoking words and Santana was simply hoping for him not to try something stupid. She could feel his rage and she could feel that he wanted to jump the man and show him who's boss.

The man in black stepped closer pointing his torch right in his face, making him raise a hand to protect his eyes.

The man stood still for a couple of seconds, then he turned his head towards her and even if she wasn't able to see his face she could distinctly feel his gaze on her. Santana immediately lowered her eyes, focusing on the floor patterns and trying to not let her fear control her body.

She almost jolted when the guy snapped his finger out loud in the air.

"Guys, grab them. I want to have a private conversation with Mr. Miller." he said getting even closer.

At that vocal command, the whole army of black hoods moved forward. Santana's first impulse was to stand up and run away, but her mind was already blurred by the fear and the agitation from being involved in something she had never experienced before.

But her muscles weren't ready to surrender and impulsively she managed to stand up and turn while, with one eye she could see the man almost facing Ray but in that moment she found she didn't care. The man was right after all, Miller Inc. hadn't lowered their prices at all, even though the company had brilliantly overcome the crisis period that had recently invested the whole country.

She just wanted to get the hell out of there and drive to her parents' place, but as soon as she was about to make her first step in the direction of the entrance she felt fingers wrap tightly around her wrist.

_What the fuck._

With one eye she managed to realize that another hooded guy had gripped her and was not about to let her go anywhere.

"Let me go." she said but those words came out slowly and weak, too weak.

She quickly let her eyes dance around the room but all she could see were men wearing black hoods taking guests away from Ray and leaving him alone in the center of the room with the leader of these weirdos.

The person in front of her didn't say anything he simply pulled her away from the table with a firm, but not rude, movement. He wasn't hurting her he was simply leading her away.

Surprisingly Santana let the man move her, she didn't even try to fight and that was completely foreign, it was like her body was telling her to trust the unidentified person.

She heard the man in the hood speak again, starting to list all the issues common people had every day comparing them with what Miller Inc could do to help the lower class.

Even if she was just a few inches away from Ray, she was hearing those words as if they were being announced hundreds of meters away.

She was still walking when suddenly a flying beam of light stopped for a second on the hand that was holding her wrist and she almost had a heart attack.

She had no doubts, not even for a second.

She knew those hands and she knew exactly who they belonged to.

It couldn't be happening, it couldn't be possible.

She almost fell to the ground, her legs felt weaker than ever. She must be mistaken she thought, narrowing her eyes to try and get another look at the hand.

She wished she was mistaken, but her mind was still trying to process what she had just seen, that tattooed wrist was impossible to forget and the Pink Floyd lyrics marked on the smooth skin was a mark that had become ingrained in her mind.

_Oh, fuck._

Electrical impulses finally managed to transfer from her brain to her muscles and she fought the direction she was being pulled in.

"You!" she said instinctively without thinking. "Let me go!" she added trying to stop, but the person in the hood pulled her applying much more strength than she was expecting, making her turn right in front of her. Santana wanted to scream, but when she opened her mouth nothing came out. She had fallen again into the all too familiar catatonic state and she was completely incapable of doing or saying anything.

She felt her body being pulled and turned and then she heard more than felt the dull noise of her slight frame being slammed against the granite column that was obstructing their way.

Santana leaned back against it, trying to find some of the support she was desperately craving.

The dark figure with the hood stepped forward, until she/he was right in front of her.

This is not happening.

"Shh" the person hushed placing one hand on her mouth to prevent her from screaming.

_Oh fuck._

At the contact with that skin she had no more doubts, that hand was indeed the wonderful, soft hand of Brittany S. Pierce.

A normal person who found herself in such a difficult and surreal situation would at least try to fight back, but Santana didn't feel afraid or anxious anymore.

She looked up, with Britt's hand still pressed against her lips, trying to catch the blonde's eyes, but they were still covered by that hood.

She took in a deep breath and tried to murmur something against the soft skin, but her attempts seemed to be to in vain.

"I said shut up." Brittany's voice echoed in her mind and she briefly wondered if she had fallen into some kind of parallel world. "I'm not going to hurt you." She added cooing and she was so damn close that Santana could feel her fresh breath brushing her jaw.

She knew she was telling the truth, she knew that Brittany wasn't there to hurt her.

Santana nodded silently to make her understand that she had got the message and, as a natural consequence, Brittany let her hand slowly fall, finally freeing her mouth.

She immediately gasped for air but her uneasiness increased as the blonde closed the gap even more so that there was less than an inch separating the two of them.

Santana was shaking and her body completely pressed against the cold column and the blonde's almost touching her. This was too much. What the hell was she doing there?

"Good girl." Brittany commented teasingly as if they were playing some silly game.

Santana felt her breathing becoming even more erratic as she was desperately fighting to hold back the hint of a smile that was slowing approaching the corners of her lips.

She suddenly felt a wave of goose bumps running down her sides, spreading a heat flux into her stomach. She rapidly opened her mouth to reply but her words were once again blocked by Brittany pointing the light of her torch right into her eyes.

She blinked, disturbed by the annoying sensation of not being able to see anymore; it lasted only a couple of seconds, but it was enough time for her to hear the other girl giggle entertained by her playful torture.

The tattooist made a step back giving her some free space and slowly started moving the light beam from her eyes, down, to her lips. Santana wasn't still able to see properly but she could feel the warmth of the light hitting and heating her skin as it moved down her face.

Her heart was hammering so fast against her rib cage that she was afraid it was going to explode eventually.

She let her head roll back against the column as she felt the warmth of the torch moving down, and stopping right at her chest.

She was trying to breathe normally but that was completely impossible and her efforts of trying to take in deep breaths quickly turned into her almost panting.

Santana could feel the unbearable sensation of Brittany's eyes dancing all over her figure.

"I can't believe how good you look." She said again making her blush immediately.

Wait, was this situation even real? Was she really there complimenting her in the middle of an anarchists' protest?

"I-I…" Santana stuttered more worried about what to answer than what was happening around her. It was like time had stopped somehow and her brain wasn't able to process the man in the hood's words, and Ray's reaction anymore. No the only thing that mattered to her was that Brittany was standing right in front of her, dressed like she was in the post apocalypse and complimenting her on what she was wearing.

_These things happen to crazy people not to me._

She thought sighing when the blonde made a step forward once again.

She slowly raised her free hand and gently caressed her jacket's collar, letting her fingernails slightly scratch the smooth skin under it. Santana's skin immediately felt like it was burning from the touch, this girl was the only one who could make her feel this way.

The blonde's pointer finger didn't stop it continued to roam up still gently grazing her skin making her legs even weaker than they already were. Santana couldn't do it anymore her mind was fighting between the urge to lean forward and the desire to run as far away as possible in the opposite direction.

"You followed my advice." Brittany whispered as her finger trailed up her neck, gently caressing her jaw.

_Oh fuck, Santana focus._

But she was so lost in the moment that with every vibrating pitch of music that played it sent a tingling hot wave through her body directly to her lower limbs, slowly torturing her.

"W-what are you doing here?" Santana managed to ask, her palms tightly embracing the column behind her.

Brittany smiled while her thumb was slowly brushing her lips.

"Isn't it obvious?" she replied cryptically with the same flirting tone a guy would use on his normal date.

Santana felt a chilly shiver run down her side once again. She looked up and for the first time since those crazy people had invaded the dining room of the fancy hotel she managed to lock her eyes with ocean blue ones.

Despite the happiness of seeing those incredible blue gems again, she wasn't ready for that.

"I can stop whenever you want." Brittany whispered but Santana's thoughts were blurred and all she was able to think of was the pressure that was quickly building up in her body. She felt Brittany's hand glide over her neck again.

She shockingly realized she had never been so turned on in her entire life but she had no time to process that thought.

She was still holding the blonde's gaze when she suddenly managed to see with one eye another hand, quickly flying against then, or more precisely, against Brittany.

The tattooist wasn't expecting it either and she had no time to react. Santana instinctively turned her head to see a member of the staff punching the tattooist right in the face. The impact must have been hard since Brittany was knocked on to her back.

Santana was completely shocked. "No!" she exclaimed as the waiter jumped on the lying silhouette.

She tried to pull his arm to avoid Brittany being punched again and incredibly she succeeded in her intentions since the man stopped and looked at her with a questioning expression.

"Go and help Ray please." She improvised quickly and it worked perfectly. The guy obeyed without arguing.

"Don't worry Miss the police will be here in a minute." The man shouted while rushing against the guy who was still talking to Ray but Santana wasn't interested in that scene, she could see that her boyfriend was ok and that nothing had happened to him.

She quickly turned to check on Brittany's conditions but with her surprise the tattooist wasn't there anymore.

As quick as she had appeared she had vanished just as effectively.

_10.37 pm_

Brittany quickened her pace to could almost be described as jogging. She took the main street right at the entrance of the big hotel. The damn exclusive place was in the middle of nowhere, in the hills and this was creating a fucking problem. She was running down a big empty road, trying to get away from the spot where all of the LA police department would converge in a couple of minutes.

Still running she mentally reproached herself for having been so stupid, just because that rich bastard had treated Santana in an arrogant, unpleasant way she was risking her life. She had always been impulsive and incredibly stupid when it came to women but this was quickly creeping to the top of the list of all the other incredibly stupid things she had done for a girl.

"Fuck." She commented when she almost fell to the ground. The darkness, the aching jaw that was pulsating and swelling were not helping at all. Brittany S. Pierce had always been a calm person, she had always found herself completely at ease in all situations she had been involved in and she was practically a stranger to fear, but the current predicament she was in was starting to make her feel a bit uncomfortable. She had no idea how far she had ran, she had no idea where she was going but the worst thing was that she could hear the approaching sound of sirens in the distance.

So there in the middle of the empty, desolate road she stopped. Running wasn't going to take her anywhere, the police would be there in a couple of minutes and she would be screwed. Goodbye family, friends and goodbye Urban Ink.

Unfortunately, a fucking master's from MIT hadn't managed to teach her how to escape from the police. The only thing she could do was to run blindly down the hill, away from the road and hope for the police to be busy arresting all those other guys that were running as well.

The blood in her veins suddenly froze as she heard the noise of a car approaching.

_Oh shit._

She approached the edge of the road, ready to jump into the darkness, trying to reach the far lights of LA when she suddenly halted smiling. She could recognize the sound of that engine anywhere.

Brittany stood still and as sound of the engine drew closer and her heart beat accelerated a bit.

She could just about distinguish the shadow of the Audi approaching her spot but it wasn't easy since the car's headlights were off.

The blonde hinted a smile shaking her head. Who would have thought that night she would have been the one needing saving.

The car stopped right next to her and she didn't hesitate, not even for a second before she jumped in.

"Go, go!" She ordered to Santana frantically but she could already feel her muscles relaxing in the comfortable seat.

Santana didn't say anything and kept on driving a normal speed, probably so they didn't draw any unwanted attention. Her eyes were focused on the road in front of her and she wasn't letting any emotions out.

"You know that helping a fugitive is a crime, don't you?" Brittany asked teasingly but she got no answer from the girl.

"Hey?" Brittany insisted but she wasn't ready for the reaction that followed her question.

Santana suddenly pressed her foot against the brake pedal and pulled over to the edge of the road.

"What the hell are you doing?" Brittany asked annoyed roaming her eyes around to see if there were any signs of the police coming.

"Shut up!" Santana said firmly, the tone voice was still calm and light.

"Santana, this is not the perfect time to have a conversation. I need to get the hell out of here."

"What the fuck were you doing there?" Santana asked ignoring her order.

Brittany was about to answer but apparently the wealthy girl hadn't finished.

"Do you realize that what you just did was against the law?"

"I do, believe me." Brittany nodded. "Now, start up the bloody engine please."

"Everything is a game to you, isn't it?"

"What?" Brittany replied frowning. What the hell was she talking about? But mostly did the girl have a switch off button?

"You had no right to come over tonight! I can take care of myself and I didn't ask for your help!" she said out loud.

"Do you really believe that I've organized all this for you? You are so wrong right now!"

"Oh, am I really? Get out of the car!" Santana exclaimed her eyes locked with Brittany's.

"What?" her jaw immediately dropped. "You can't just leave me here."

"Yes I can! You are acting like a three year old kid and I can do the same! So get out of this fucking car!"

Brittany tried so hard to hold the smile that was approaching the corner of her lips. Who was this girl?

"Ok fine! We'll talk, like adults, but we have to go now!" Brittany replied hastily still worried about what was going on a few hundred meters away from them.

Santana didn't switch on the engine. Two seconds of silence passed but Brittany swore they felt like an eternity. She was afraid of adding anything else since she was worried of upsetting the driver even more and that would mean an unhappy ending for her.

"Do you want me to take you out of here?" Santana asked at the end breaking the silence.

Was that even a question?

"Are you kidding me?" Brittany replied.

"You know that in three minutes a police patrol car will probably notice a car stopped at the side of the road and will come and check it out, right?"

Brittany finally understood. The girl was trying to blackmail her or something like that. The fact that her voice was trembling and she visibly couldn't hold her gaze was making her seem even more adorable.

"Santana, what do you want?"

"Y-you have to promise me that you'll stop."

"Stop what exactly?"

"Everything! Teasing, mockery and the inappropriate touching all of it needs to stop!"

"Ok, I will!" Brittany replied quickly.

_No I won't._

"And you have to stop treating me like the poor little girl who needs protecting."

"Ok."

"Can we go now?" the tattooist insisted nervously chewing her lower lip.

"Fine!" Santana agreed.

_11.40 pm_

"Make yourself at home." Brittany said gently when opening the door of her apartment and letting Santana into her world.

Santana hesitated just for a second before she stepped into the tattooist's place. What the hell was she doing there?

She had agreed to take Brittany home because her jaw was starting to hurt more as time went on and she had practically begged her to give her a ride to her place. She just couldn't say no.

They had driven in silence for the entire trip and Santana had felt her unsteady heartbeat torturing her for most of the time.

Then when they had arrived right in front of Brittany's building the blonde had asked if she wanted a beer and she had agreed even though she wasn't drinking anymore.

She knew what she was doing was wrong on so many levels but she could barely recognize herself anymore and so she decided to just go with it. She really didn't want to go back home that soon, Ray was probably still at the party location to check the damages and release a statement to the police and even if he was at home, she really wasn't in the mood to listen to his predictable outburst against those people.

She had decided to text him that she had gone to her parents to recover a little bit from the shock of the attack and that she would come home later that evening.

"Thank you." She replied scanning her eyes around the apartment.

_Wow._

The place wasn't that big but surprisingly it was cozy and peaceful. The furniture was modern, but warm at the same time. Santana could see that all the pieces there were there for a reason and were perfectly suited to one another. There were drawings on the walls, probably hers, framed in matte black frames that gave a unique feel to the house.

"Wow. I feel like I'm in the bat cave." Santana commented while sitting on the couch.

Brittany giggled. "I love this place." She stated.

"It's very nice." Santana agreed.

"I know it's not the mansion you're probably used to…" the tattooist added placing her eyes on her to check her reaction but Santana didn't give her one.

The tattooist vanished for a second into the kitchen and came back with a tea towel, probably full of ice cubes, two beers and sat right next to her.

"Ouch." She grumbled placing the cold towel on her jaw and Santana instinctively took if from her hand.

"Come on, let me see." She ordered gently slightly brushing her jaw line.

Brittany didn't say anything, she simply looked down at her and Santana couldn't help but blush when she realized how close the two of them were.

"Does it hurt?" she asked softly pressing the cold cloth against the swollen part.

"Not too much." Brittany replied shaking her head. "You know, this is the second time I got punched this week because of you!"

"It's not my fault if you are that stupid." Santana replied with the same teasing tone, but then her expression darkened. "Why were you there Brittany?" she asked even though she wasn't really sure she was ready to hear the answer.

"I swear I didn't organize it!" the tattooist quickly exclaimed looking at her directly with those eyes that seemed incapable of lying.

"I believe you, but it doesn't change my question."

"I don't know" she said and for a moment Santana had the feeling she had put the girl in a difficult position for the first time since they had met.

"…I really didn't like the way he treated you this afternoon." She admitted with her usual honesty that was continually shocking Santana the more time she spent with her. She wanted to ask her so many more questions but she knew how dangerous knowing would be.

"That was probably the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"I know."

"You could have been arrested!"

"I know."

"No seriously" Santana insisted while she kept on applying a light pressure to Brittany's jaw.

"You could have lost your shop and everything!"

"I know."

"Promise me you won't do anything like that again." She pleaded. She really didn't know where all these concerns for the blonde's safety were coming from but apparently it was so natural that she wasn't even thinking about what to say, she was simply saying it.

Brittany tried to smile but the pain was probably too much and the effort was transformed in a funny grin.

"I can't promise that." She said. "But it's nice."

"What?"

"That you care about me."

Santana was completely invested by those words. It was true, she did care about her, but she couldn't, she wasn't supposed to feel anything. Especially to feel this way towards a person like Brittany, it was unacceptable.  
"I-I'm just worried about my laser treatment." she lied.

"I bet." Brittany replied gently lowering Santana's hand that was holding the ice. "Hell of a night." She continued stretching against the backrest of her sofa.

"Yep, hell of a night." Santana repeated in a sigh.

"You should have seen your face when we walked into the room." Brittany mocked her.

"Excused me? My face! "

"Yes, you were completely terrified!"

"That was because I was surrounded by dozens of psychopaths." She froze for a second rolling her eyes at the blonde. "No offence." She added obtaining a black look from the other girl.

"Oh come on, that was funny!"

"You are completely crazy! That wasn't funny at all, that was wrong and dangerous and terrifying."

"All the people there are good ones, they wouldn't hurt a fly."

"Well, I was scared."

"Oh, I have to apologize then!" but then she stopped. "...but that would be like the fourth time this week and I really don't want to spoil you"

"Ah! Right wouldn't want to spoil me would we?"

"How did the competition go?" Santana then asked trying to change the topic but Brittany didn't even need to answer since a big smile burst on her face.

"You won?" Santana asked just as excited as Brittany. "Oh my god! That is so cool!"

"It is!"

And they looked at each other, both smiling with their eyes.

_Oh god._

Santana could still feel the pressure inside her that hadn't left her for a second that night. Brittany giggled, holding her gaze and for a second she seemed so adorable and innocent that Santana had the urge to hug her.

"I, I-" she stuttered before closing her eyes to try gain the control of her mind back. "I should go."

The last words were more a suggestion she aimed at herself rather than a real communication and they were a smart way of getting herself out of trouble.

There was only one tiny issue with her plan as she was absolutely not ready for what Brittany said next.

"Stay." The tattooist whispered.

* * *

**Hey guys! **

**First I really would like to thank each one of you for all the feedbacks. I'm really glad about that.**

**Second, I want to thank my beta cos she's awesome!**

**And then I'll try to update soon, but my birthday is next week so..:)**

**Have an awesome week!**


	8. Chapter 8

_May 7_

_11:59 pm_

_No, I can't._

Those were the first words that popped into Santana's mind. Her conscience and instincts in sync with each other, trying to deny what her heart really wants.

She opened her mouth to transfer her thoughts from her brain to the outside world but Brittany interrupted her. She didn't know if the blonde had understood she was just about to decline her invitation, but she continued to persist without waiting to hear her answer." Oh come on. You are already here, you brought me here and you've probably just saved me from spending the next few months in a four by four cell. Let me at least thank you for helping me."

"Oh, there is no need, really. I can just drive back home." Santana replied.

Quickly shaking her head as she tried to convince herself that she needed to go back home. Not because Ray may need her, but because the idea of spending the evening at Brittany's place was already generating an unsteady heartbeat.

"I know you can." Brittany agreed. "I'm just asking you to stay." She added with her classic disarming honesty.

"Brittany I would like to but…" Santana trailed off, not knowing how to finish her sentence.

"You are afraid of doing something that is not included in your routine, right?"

Santana simply looked at her, eyes wide open and nodded.

That was a hundred percent true, she couldn't even process the idea of not going back home.

"Well you have just been subjected to a lot of stress." Brittany commented completely out of context and the only thing Santana managed to do was roll her chocolate eyes at her complete with a frown.

"You may start suffering from delayed shock or something, so your best chance is to stay here in case something happens." She explained gently before smirking.

"Oh, I see what you are trying to do here."

"Hey, can't blame a girl for trying!"

"Fine, I'll stay but you have to promise me that I won't have to worry about your behavior!" Santana stated but as soon as the last syllable left her mouth she wondered what the hell she was doing. Had she really just agreed to spend the rest of the evening at this girl's place?

Brittany beamed at that answer but Santana couldn't help asking herself if her happiness was due to her staying or because she had just won another battle.

"Afraid you may like it?" The tattooist said back.

"Ha-ha, very funny." She commented mocking Brittany.

"You really think I'm some kind of creepy stalker, don't you?"

Santana shook her head quickly in denial.

"No not at all! It's just that uhm it's just sometimes you.." She stuttered out before shutting up completely as Brittany's eyes darkened.

"Santana." The girl said softly placing her hand on her shoulder.

"You know that I'm always joking and making fun of you but I'm serious this time. You don't have to worry about anything. I mean it." Santana was silently listening and she knew she was supposed to feel relieved by Brittany's reassurance but, she wasn't.

"Ok." She replied quietly lowering her gaze to avoid the realization in Brittany's eyes that she was indeed serious. Santana just felt torn her head and heart pulling her in opposite directions.

"No Santana" she insisted applying a little pressure on her shoulder with the thumb. "I won't ever try to do something for two very simple reasons. Number one," She said lifting her index finger. "You are not gay and I won't ever force someone into something and second you are in a serious relationship. Also despite what people may say I really don't like to be involved in threesomes." She finished smirking. "Well, these kind of threesomes." She added but this time Santana didn't smile at the joke, she was too busy thinking about what that girl was actually saying or, well, what she wanted her to understand.

Brittany hadn't told her that she wouldn't have done anything because she didn't like her, right? Or was that implied? Santana's mind was so fucking blurred by her thoughts fighting against each other.

"Ok, I believe you." She added, blushing when she realized that Brittany was staring at her, waiting for an answer.

"Does that mean you're staying?" she asked anxiously.

"Yes."

As soon as that one word left her full lips she couldn't help but wonder if she had made the right decision.

"Ok, so what did you have in mind?"

"Nothing really I just wanted to chill and talk. Do you want one?" Brittany asked handing her one of the bottles of beer without waiting for an answer.

At that question Santana could already feel the tears starting to fill her eyes. No, no she didn't want one, she couldn't have one. Since the day of the accident she had swore to herself and, basically, to everyone else that she wouldn't touch even a sip of alcohol anymore.

Her face immediately darkened. If this was the way the night was going to go, then she definitely shouldn't have agreed to stay.

"Santana?" Brittany asked concerned with the Latina's instant mood change.

"I- I can't." she cut shortly.

"Why?"

"I almost killed myself thanks to alcohol." She said vaguely she wasn't about to delve into her personal issues with Brittany.

"I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong, that you almost killed yourself because of your stupidity, not because of the alcohol. I believe that not drinking is one of the countless things you have stopped doing to pretend to have to complete control of your life."

_Oh, fuck you._

Santana continued to be shocked by Brittany and her ability to dig deep inside her and open her up exposing her, with very little effort.

"I'm not judging you, I'm just trying to get to know you." Brittany added to calm her upcoming reaction.

"I can't have a beer. I just can't." Santana repeated avoiding the opportunity to open up.

"I'm not saying that you have to drink, but having a beer is not a big issue unless you are an alcoholic, and from what you've told me, you are not nor have you ever been. I think that this is just another way for you to conform to your perfect little life."

"Wow." Santana commented with a little giggle that made Brittany frown puzzled from her reaction.

"What?"

"You really are in love with the sound of your own voice, aren't you?"

Brittany's jaw dropped at Santana's mockery. "You can't deny it!" she insisted.

"I will, but only if you admit that your life is so freaking planned till the last detail and just the thought of doing something spontaneous that is out of your control is making you panic!"

"What? That is not true and I think I've just proved it to you!"

"What? Are you referring to the fact that you came and saved me before? That doesn't count, you were just in the moment!" she said and Santana immediately felt the familiar annoyance she frequently got when she argued with Brittany.

"A moment that was useful though! And what about the fact I came to visit you this afternoon? And that I've put my own skin in the hand of a crazy tattooist I don't even know!"

Santana paused for a second.

"You know what? I don't care!" she said roughly taking the beer Brittany was drinking from her hands and taking just a sip of it.

"Happy? See? I'm drinking!"

Damn she had forgotten how good a sip of fresh beer tasted.

Fuck, she was indeed drinking again but she actually wasn't afraid of it at all, she knew it was just a beer and she wasn't craving for more.

"I don't want you to drink! I don't really care about it. I just want you to do what you feel like doing for once!" Brittany exclaimed quickly pulling the beer back from Santana's grasp.

"Hey! I wasn't finished with that."

Brittany burst out laughing loudly.

"I think that our fights are like the weirdest I've ever been involved in." Brittany managed to breathe out in between her laughs.

"I don't know why but I find that hard to believe." Santana commented.

"What are you trying to imply?"

"N-nothing." She paused taking a second to decide what she really wanted to say before simply replying with a gentle "Thank you."

"For what?"

Santana simply shrugged trying to be as honest with Brittany as she was with her. "I barely know you, but it's like you're not giving up on me. I-I don't know-I…sorry." she said feeling a hot flush of blood quickly run up to her cheeks.

"Don't be sorry, your ramblings are adorable." Brittany commented without breaking eye contact causing Santana's blush to dominate her cheeks.

"I can't believe you actually made me drink a beer after three years." Santana mentioned. "I wonder what you will make me do next, steal a car?" she jokingly asked without giving it too much thought.

It was an incredible feeling just being able to laugh and joke so naturally with Brittany.

Brittany's eyes suddenly went wide open at those words.

"Oh no Brittany, I'm not going to steal a car." She said shaking her head hoping the girl wasn't forming some ridiculously insane idea. Too late, Brittany was already on her feet.

"No." Santana tried to insist but from what she knew of the tattooist it was pointless even trying to stop her. "Oh yeah."

But again Brittany did something Santana wasn't expecting. Every time she thought Brittany couldn't surprise her further she does so effortlessly. One word and one word only Santana would use to describe Brittany S. Pierce…Intoxicating. Totally and utterly intoxicating, as much as she tried to convince herself otherwise she couldn't help but be drawn in by this girl every time

Brittany took the remote control of her tv and switched it on and went back to the couch, sitting right next to Santana.

She took from the little table in front of her something that looked like a controller, Santana knew what they were but she had never used them.

"What's that?" Santana asked curious and anxious to know what Brittany had in mind.

Exasperated with Santana's cluelessness Brittany rolled her eyes in response.

"You're kidding, right?"

"I know kids play with those things."

"This is not happening. Santana Lopez you are really trying to tell me that you have never played video games?" The tattooist questioned with a face mixed of astonishment and uncertainty.

"Well uhm I- No I've never played video games, I don't even like them." She replied.

"Ok. Aaaand we are no longer friends." Brittany said back seriously.

Wait, does that mean they were actually friends? The knot in her stomach tightened a little bit at that thought.

Santana watched Brittany loading some kind of post apocalyptic/gangster game, ok she had no clue of what that thing was but she knew she was about to find out as Brittany loaded a previously saved game.

"Ok, the avatar is not as cute as you so you will have to use this bad guy." Brittany explained when a man appeared on the screen.

_She finds me cute._

"W-what should I do?"

"Whatever you want! This is the cool thing of this game. You have a city full of things and opportunities and you can do absolutely whatever you want, since I've already finished the game." Brittany told her excitedly.

Santana nodded even though she wasn't sure she understood.

"Whatever I want?" She clarified.

"I'll show you." Brittany replied whilst she started moving the man and making him walk down what seemed to be an NYC road.

"Ok, see that old lady."

"Yes."

Santana replied when he noticed the old lady walking down the street holding two bags.

It was incredible how good the graphics were, it seemed so realistic.

Brittany made the man approach the granny and stop right in front of her.

Santana felt for a moment the blonde's eyes dancing all over her face and she tried so hard to focus on the TV and not turn to look at her.

The tattooist controlling the actions of the man in the game suddenly made the guy start violently hitting the old lady and in the end he ran away with her purse.

"Oh no, bitch!" Santana exclaimed without thinking, still looking at that gross scene. As soon as the last word escaped her mouth she instinctively brought her hand to her lips and quickly looked to check the blonde's reaction.

She had no intention of insulting her at all, that bitch had just come out of nowhere.

But, just like the last time a little bit of her old self had slipped out Brittany just found it amusing, if her giggling was anything to go off.

"I can't believe you hurt that poor lady!" Santana said.

"I just wanted to show you that you can do absolutely what you want!"

"I wouldn't want to punch a granny though!" Santana insisted just because bantering with Brittany was quickly becoming one of her favorite activities.

"Oh, come on I wouldn't either! Gosh Santana you really need to relax! So take this damn joystick and let me see what you're capable of!" Brittany exclaimed slowly handing the controller to her.

Santana took it without thinking. She internally laughed at herself since she had absolutely no clue what to do now.

"Mmm ok I can do this." She stated and started moving the man down a random street. "Ok, what now?"

"K, choose a car." Brittany ordered.

"This one?" Santana asked while the man came to a stop next what seemed to be a Mustang, still a light nuance of uncertainty in her voice.

"I don't really care, it's up to you." The tattooist replied falling back into the rest of the couch and stretching her body out.

Santana had the urge to turn and check on the blonde's muscles stretching but she mentally reproached herself.

_Can you please try to focus at least?_

"How can I?" she said.

"Ok." Brittany replied sliding across the couch and closing the gap that was between them. Santana almost jolted when she felt Brittany's hand touching hers. "Press this is _x_ button." She explained helping her do it.

Santana instinctively tilted her head to the left, getting closer to the blonde. She knew she was supposed to follow the game and what that man was doing inside that big screen but she was attracted to something else at the moment.

She turned to look at Brittany and her breath hitched Brittany was already looking at her, eyes penetrating her very being. She wasn't expecting her to be that close, she wasn't expecting her to smell that great. Her gaze instinctively dropped from those incredible blue eyes to the blonde's lips. She noticed there was the hint of a smile and that was the last straw.

A sudden hot wave invested her body, just the fact that her face was a few inches away from the other girl's was driving her crazy, she knew she wanted to lean forward, just a little bit, just enough to be able to feel Brittany's breath, just to be able to see herself reflected in those watery eyes, just to see what her lips tasted like.

"Santana?" Brittany whispered.

"Y-yes?"

"You should run."

"W-what?" but as soon that word left her lips Santana blinked as she realized that the girl was actually talking about the game and not about her inner battle with herself. A quick flush of blood reached her face making her skin burn of embarrassment.

"Oh, right." She said her muscles tensing up while she cleared her throat.

She quickly turned herself to look at the monitor and to her surprise she was already in the car and a sort of radar had appeared.

"Oh fuck."

"Come on, move or the police will catch you!"

"And where am I supposed to go!?"

"See that radar?" Santana nodded, her heart was beating faster she was really feeling the tension and the risk of getting caught. "It shows where the police cars are, just drive in the opposite direction."

Santana didn't need to be told twice, she pressed a random button on the joystick and luckily for her the car started moving.

Ok, someone explain to me why the hell I'm doing this.

She started driving but she was barely able to avoid hitting people or other cars. The game was fucking so realistic and she couldn't stop the pressure from building even more inside her. She really wanted to prove to Brittany that she was capable of playing a bloody video game but what was happening was so fucking complicated.

"Oh, fuck fuck." She exclaimed when the car almost flipped in the air when she hit a car coming from the other lane for the umpteenth time.

"Miss, language." Brittany teased her before bursting in what was the prettiest unexpected laugh her ears had ever listened to.

Santana smiled at that sound as well. "What?"

But Brittany was still laughing and she had no clue why.

"I can't believe this is happening." She said covering her mouth with a hand.

"What?" Santana insisted,

"You stopped." She said still laughing as she pointed at the screen.

"Wait, are you talking about the traffic lights?"

Santana knew she was right when Brittany beamed again at her, with a sweet smile. The tattooist wrapped her fingers around her wrist, slightly squeezing it.

"But it was red!" she tried to explain her decision to stop the car.

"Ha-ha, so you are supposed to be the most reckless gangster of NYC and you are currently running away from the police but you decide to stop at a traffic light?"

"I-I…"Whilst Santana struggled to defend her actions the police had reached the car and was arresting her character.

"The fact I'm a gagster doesn't mean that I don't have a civic duty towards my city." Santana argued making the tattooist smile even more.

"You are way too cute to be real." Brittany commented taking the joystick out of her hand and placing it on the table. "So, did you like it?"

She did indeed, it was something new, and something she had never done before.

"The game is really cool." she agreed. "But…do kids really play it?"

"They do Santana."

"But it's not setting a very good example" Santana protested.

"This is exactly why it's fun to play. People want to do things that they can't normally do in real life, like being involved in a military mission or running away from crazy hungry zombies."

Santana smiled at her, "I see."

"So, tell me more about Santana Lopez." Brittany asked getting comfortable on the couch and looking at her with the intention of exploring every inch of her soul.

Santana instinctively shrugged in response it was her automatic reaction every time somebody asked her to talk about herself. She couldn't think of a more boring subject than herself, it was probably on par with Ray's talks about sailing or golf.

"There isn't really much to tell." She commented.

"So what? The only things I get to know about you are that you have a tattoo on your back, you like music and you live a very boring life?" Brittany asked.

"Pretty sad, huh?" she said back lowering her gaze ashamed she didn't have anything exciting to tell.

"Well, we could always add that you like to save friends from jail and play video games to your lame description." Brittany commented to try to cheer her up and it worked, but not exactly thanks to her word, no, just being there with her made her feel safe and at peace with herself. She didn't have to continually prove she was perfect to anyone and she didn't have to behave how everyone expected her to, because they said it was the right way to be. "You just need to let your real self come out a little more, she's a really nice person." Brittany added.

"I'm trying. Baby steps." Santana replied. "Tell me more about you."

"Well, I'm awesome. What more is there to say?" the blonde replied jokingly but Santana was struggling to see it as anything but the truth. In her eyes Brittany seemed flawless and everything she did or said was disarmingly perfect.

She was an artist and a geek combined, she wasn't paying attention to which clothes or accessories she should be wearing yet she was stunningly beautiful, she tried so hard to come across as an aloof badass but Santana could see right through her facade.

Santana shyly smiled back at her.

"I don't know _Barbie,_ what do you want to know?"

Santana tilted her head aside, glaring at her.

"I've noticed that you call me that every time you get uncomfortable." Santana said calling her out on her behaviour.

"I've no idea what you are talking about." The tattooist quickly replied back but lacking her classic teasing smirk Santana could tell that she had hit the nail on the head.

"You are just being modest." Santana said.

"Why do you think that I have such an adventurous life?"

"Uhm, maybe because every time I find out something new about you it's either unexpected or amazing."

"Santana I think you are exaggerating a little. My life is just as ordinary as…" she stopped for a second looking at the Latina glaring at her. "Ok, maybe it's not as ordinary as yours but i can assure you that it's nothing special."

"Yeah, right." Santana snorted. "Do I have to remind you that I've just saved you from prison?" She added smiling at her.

"Fine, what do you want to know about me?"

For a second Santana wanted to shout out _everything_ in response. But she chewed her lower lip trying to hide the uncontrollable need to know absolutely everything about the girl who was sat next to her.

"I-I don't know…" She muttered out.

Brittany smiled staring at the little table in front of them, she leaned forward just enough to take her beer.

"Ok, I'll tell you what we are going to do now." She said checking for her reaction but she didn't have to wait long because she realized that Santana was hanging on her every word.

"Let's play I've never."

"What's that?" Santana asked intrigued by the suggestion.

"It's really easy I say I've never done something and we have to drink a sip of beer if we have indeed done that specific thing." Brittany easily explained.

The Latina nodded quietly, showing some unexpected confidence even if she was already starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Ok, I'll start with…" She paused. "I've never gotten drunk in my life." She said.

Santana waited a couple of seconds, hesitating on what she was supposed to do but, as she noticed Brittany taking a sip from the bottle, she did the same.

"Your turn."

She immediately blushed since her mind was completely empty and not because of the beer but because her brain was usually blurred when she was within touching distance of Brittany.

"I-I've never stolen something?" She said but the sentence came out more as a question than as a real statement.

Brittany smirked and readily drank from the bottle and Santana smiled at the action.

"I'm wondering why I've said that since I already knew the answer." She commented but she didn't drink since she actually had never stolen anything in her life, a part from her dad's car but that wasn't technically stealing since he was family.

"Touché" the blonde replied. "I've never cheated on someone." She added making Santana widen her eyes.

Wait were the two of them already there? Asking personal questions?

Santana stared at the girl drinking, holding her steady gaze and she did the same.

"Wow, Santana I wasn't expecting that from you." Brittany commented.

"Well, I was young and..." She started with a trembling tone but the girl stopped her shaking her head.

"No judging, so no explanations."

Then the silence fell again between them and the air quickly got heavier. She was aware of the fact that it was her turn and that her question should have been at least the same level of intimacy as the previous one, but once again her mind was refusing to work properly.

"I've never had sex in a public place."

She stated without too much thinking but she immediately reproached herself.

"Seriously? I will need a big jar of beer for that." Brittany said laughing and Santana took a sip as well pretending to consider the backyard of her country house a public place.

I can't believe I'm lying in a drinking game I'm the lamest person on the planet.

For a second the unhealthy thought of what Brittany could have done in public places crossed her minded but she mentally forced herself to focus on what was happening in the living room.

She cleared her voice, stiffening her muscles against the backrest of that couch.

"Ok. How about, I've never desired someone so badly if I didn't have them I'd go crazy." The tattooist said blinking at her.

Santana's mouth immediately went dry and she rolled her eyes at the blonde in disbelief watching her drink. What was that supposed to mean? Was that just a stupid question or another way to fuck with her?

And what was she supposed to do? Drink? Or was the fact that she was completely bewitched by this girl normal?

She opted for skipping the turn to avoid some uneasy questions.

"Liar." Brittany whispered looking at her with those magnetic blue eyes.

Santana's blood quickly rushed to her face making it burn.

"I've never been in love." She said rapidly trying to divert the attention from the last comment.

She slowly took a sip of beer and waited for the inked blonde to do the same but nothing happened.

"Really?" She asked not afraid of overstepping since she had the uncomfortable feeling that they had already crossed the threshold of a normal decent relationship a long time ago.

Brittany shrugged. "Hey, I'm just being honest."

"But everyone has been in love at least once in their life." She said innocently. "Actually when I was in college my roommate was falling in love once a week."

"I don't know what to tell you Santana." She said with her usual calm tone that was showing that she wasn't ashamed or had any problems at all at admitting it.

"Its just weird." Santana commented, she really had no intention in offending her but she wanted to know more, she wanted to know the reason why Brittany had never been in love.

For a second she kind of felt relieved by that confession, she didn't know why but the thought of someone else stealing the tattooist's heart was upsetting to her. "And sad. I mean, I'm not saying that you're sad… but…"

Brittany hinted a shy smile and stopped her embarrassing ramblings by sweetly wrapping her slender fingers around her wrist.

"I know this might be confusing for you but it's just who I am."

Santana felt her heart sink at those words she couldn't talk at all, she simply looked at the girl and blinked repeatedly.

"Santana I don't usually open myself up to other people, I know that I'm always joking and stuff but when it comes to personal interaction between two people I'm probably the worst."

"But… Have you ever been in a relationship?"

Brittany's jaw suddenly dropped and the girl's eyes for a second were glued at the floor.

"I don't believe in relationships." Brittany stated at the end and Santana couldn't help but burst into a slight laugh.

"You what?What does that even mean?"

Santana was completely at ease for probably the first time since she had met the girl.

"And in what does Brittany S. Pierce believe?" She asked playfully but she definitely wasn't ready for the girl winking at her. "Multiple orgasms." She replied with her classic evil smirk, the one that usually got Santana into trouble.

"Do you take anything seriously? Like ever?"

Brittany bit her lower lip and looked at her chocolate eyes with an intense gaze that rapidly sent a hot vibrating wave to her lower limbs.

"Oh come on Santana! What do you want me to tell you? It's true I don't believe in relationships, but I do believe in great sex and having fun with someone. Relationships usually ruin everything."

"I completely disagree with you! Relationships improve the interactions between two people, relationships are wonderful."

"And that is why I'm having a lot of amazing mind-blowing sex and you are what? Cuddling on a couch?"

"I-I-I'm not cuddling on a couch!"

"So tell me, when did you and Ray have sex for the last time?"

Santana couldn't hold her gaze. She wanted so badly to lie again but the blood flushing heavily in the veins of her forehead was about to betray her calm pretense.

"Ok, we have had a period of calm lately." She said trying to avoid the question.

"Answer the question."

"Ok, fine I think it's about three weeks now, but that is not the point!" She replied with a challenging tone.

"And when did you last have sex, huh? Two minutes ago?" She asked mocking her.

Brittany shrugged again and answered nonchalantly. "Yesterday."

Yesterday.

It was like a sudden stab to her gut that quickly turned into a vice like grip and was making her feel kind of sick.

Did that mean 24 hours earlier someone else was staring into those blue eyes, kissing those lips and inhaling that fruity fragrance?

That was not fair, it was unbearable.

"Are you ok?" Brittany asked noticing her frowned expression.

"Hmm, yes sure." But she couldn't help but glare at her.

She needed to stop being so obsessed with her. She needed to let it go. She was with Ray, Brittany was fucking around and that was exactly how it was supposed to be. Things just needed to stay exactly the same.

"I just don't get you with your just sex thing. Aren't you afraid that you will end up alone eventually?" She asked trying to hide that was still mulling over the fact that Brittany had sex the day before with a random chick.

She couldn't stop but wonder what that girl might have looked like. Was she all girly and nice or was she more like a tattooed badass?

"Ok, I'll tell you something now but I swear to god this is just between you and I, am I clear?"

Santana nodded in silence.

"I might not be a fan of love, romantic things or relationships but I strongly believe that out there, there is someone made just for you."

And right when Santana was ready to say that the girl was completely far away from the normal way of thinking and living life she says something absolutely adorable.

"So you are basically saying that you believe in soul mates?"

"Nah, I just think that sooner or later everyone meets that only person that makes you want to stop and love her. I like to believe that when the time comes I won't have eyes for anyone else." She explained calmly, her eyes were somehow shining and Santana couldn't but feel a little bit jealous towards the imaginary person that would eventually steal the blonde's heart.

"Well, that is sweet and a little bit weird. I do believe that you can fall in love at different times of your life."

"True and I don't argue that, but I'm sure that even now if you think about your relationship you already know if Ray is the one, the person you are destined to be with."

"How can I know?"

"You just know, you feel it."

And Santana didn't fight back to those words since she had the sensation that the girl was right, again. The main problem was that she wasn't ready to admit the answer.

"Maybe you're right."

She managed to whisper before lowering her gaze to try to push away the feeling that Ray wasn't the right person.

May 8

02:10 am

Santana took her time as she was staring at her silhouette reflected in the mirror in front of her. The makeup had already faded away and she was left with just her natural self. She hinted a shy smile as she recognized herself in those shining chocolate eyes. For the first time in so long she felt happy and that was just what she needed at this point of her life. Happiness. She just wanted to feel free, without plaguing thoughts, simply happy.

She sighed when she suddenly realized that the calm sensation inside her, wouldn't last for long. The night would be over soon and she would have to leave Brittany and to go back to her normal, emotionless life. Somehow the thought didn't upset her that much, she still had the night after all and that meant just one thing. Brittany would be the first person she would see the following morning.

She wrapped her hand around the door knob and opened the door leaving the bathroom wearing a big, long football t-shirt that Brittany had given her for pajamas. The evening had been so pleasant and for the first time the two of them had really been able to talk and have some fun together. Brittany wasn't as she had pictured at all, she seemed so different from how she had originally perceived her. She was kind, funny and sweet. Of course every occasion was a great opportunity to mock or tease her but she had slowly got used to it and she had arrived at a point where Brittany's jokes were something that made her smile.

She stepped into the bedroom to sort out the sleeping arrangements but before she could form any words her brain stopped working. "Oh shit." She exclaimed her muscles automatically tensing immediately drawing the other girl's attention.

All the thoughts of being happy, calm and relaxed were blown away in a second. Her heart immediately started racing quickly against her chest, to the point it was almost hurting her.

How was someone supposed to survive that vision?

The fucking half naked body of Brittany S. Pierce was standing in the middle of the room.

The tattooist was in plain black underwear that was hiding all the intimate parts of her body, but Santana was still having breathing problems. She could tell that Brittany wasn't expecting her to pop out so soon since she blushed a little bit.

"Oh fuck." She commented as well but Santana's mind was already incapable of processing any other inputs.

The blonde's body was covered by tattoos they deliciously followed her subtle curves, accentuating the smoothness of her skin, the fit tone of her muscles.

Santana felt the same excitement building inside her she felt when she was admiring a work of art. But But she wasn't quite able to put into words what she was feeling.

Brittany looked up at her, eyes wide open. Embarrassment painted all over her face.

"Oh I'm so sorry I wasn't expecting you." She quickly told her whilst putting her pajama's on and trying to cover her modesty at the same time.

Santana realized that she wasn't looking at her anymore, she was eyeing her like a predator eyeing its next meal.

"No." She said making a step forward. She didn't recognize herself anymore, as if she was watching the scene from outside her body.

"Your body." She whispered even though she had no clue where she wanted to take that conversation. "Wow." Was indeed the only word she managed to formulate her brain was struggling to function properly due to the lack of oxygen. Brittany smiled nodding.

"My sister always says that I'm more like a painting than a real person."

"Amazing." She insisted trying slowly to regain control of her body.

"What was your first one?" She asked hoping to bring the conversation back to a decent level.

"This one." Brittany said turning herself to let her admire the drawing of a colorful bird on the blonde's back.

Santana let out a silent breath at the sight of the toned back arching a little bit trying to show the magnificent tattoo better. It occupied almost half of her smooth sculpted back. The Latina made another step in the tattooist's direction. Her brain was trying to formulate some sort plausible excuse to get her to the living room and close her eyes until the following morning but it was like her body was out of its control.

She only realized how close she was starting to get to the girl when she smelt the unmistakable fragrance and inhaled it directly into her lungs.

"Do you know that it is?" Brittany asked politely probably to fill the awkward silence that had settled between them.

"No, not exactly."

Santana replied still gazing the impressive drawing. It was like she was being drawn in by the explosion of color. She lifted her left hand slowly towards her back.

Her heart was still giving her vibrations through her chest and her mouth was completely dry.

She watched in silence her hand approaching the other girl's back. That wasn't her, that wasn't her hand.

A sudden hot wave quickly reached her lower limbs as her fingers touched the incredibly soft skin in front of her. Brittany wasn't expecting it at all and the spasm she made when Santana scratched her back was proof enough.

Santana couldn't believe what she was doing, she needed to stop. She fucking needed to take her hand off the beautiful back.

"I-it's a phoenix." Brittany said not moving at all. Santana's hand was still placed on the inked skin, but it wasn't moving either.

"It's beautiful." Santana commented studying the bird image carefully. It was both elegant and powerful. The body and the feathers were those of a bird, with a reddish color, but with the head of something that resembled a dragon.

The tattooist hesitated for a second before talking again.

"It's a mythological figure Santana. You know, In Greek mythology, a phoenix has a long life and when it dies it is reborn again. It rises from the ashes of its predecessor. I liked it because it expresses the new life that still holds the essence of its previous life."

She explained calmly before turning herself to stare at her with those blue gems.

Santana realized how damn close the two of them were.

_Oh fuck._

"Since it was the beginning of my new life I thought it was a cool meaning." She finished with a sweet smile.

"It is indeed." Santana said back in a whisper.

Santana wanted so badly to look away, to take a step back but her body was refusing to listen to her. Damn, she was playing with fire, she knew she wouldn't be able to resist much longer and she was becoming increasingly aware of Brittany moving forward. Unconsciously her gaze dropped from the blonde's eyes to her lips.

_Oh no, no no…_

But before she could feel the blonde body against hers, she noticed with one eye Brittany walking right next to her and taking a pillow from the bed.

The girl stopped for a second before looking at her again, Santana hadn't pulled her gaze away from her for one second.

"Good night." She said.

"Where are you going?" she quickly questioned.

"On the couch."

"Oh no, there's no way you are sleeping on the couch." Santana said determined. Brittany had been so awesome for the entire evening there was no reason why she should be the one sleeping on an uncomfortable couch.

"There is no way you are sleeping on a couch you are my guest." Brittany replied firmly, staring at her with a determined expression that made it clear that she wouldn't let her win very easily.

"Well we can…" Santana suggested with a trembling tone, rolling her eyes at the double bed and then again at the blonde's face.

"Santana Lopez, are you really asking me to sleep with you?" she said teasingly. "I thought I was the only one who behaved inappropriately."

"Oh, shut up. You can always go and sleep on the fucking couch."

"Hey! One night with me look at you all arrogant and combative."

Santana immediately blushed. Maybe that was too much.

"Sorry."

"Oh no, I like it." Brittany replied quickly, trotting to the other side of the bed and getting into it.

Santana hesitated for a second because she was mentally trying to figure out if this was something wrong or acceptable in the relationship manual. If Ray had slept with a girl, even without doing anything else, she would have been so mad, to the point that she would have probably ended their relationship. But Brittany wasn't another man, Brittany was a girl and she wasn't attracted to her, right?

But if that was right, why the hell was she feeling like she was about to do something morally wrong on all possible levels?

_Oh fuck you Santana._

She thought before jumping in the bed. She was doing nothing wrong and she really did need to relax a bit.

She rolled herself on her side to face Brittany. The moonlight coming through the window made it possible to discern the features of the girl, but she didn't need to open her eyes to feel the blonde's own eyes scrutinizing her.

"Hey, don't even think of doing anything weird."

"Oh you wish." Brittany replied.

"Now, shut up and sleep." The blonde ordered. "I'm not going to move, not even an inch." She added. Santana nodded in the dark and rolled on to her other side, to avoid any type of blind eye contact.

Being turned away from Brittany was her way of feeling safe and out of the _danger zone_.

She didn't know how, but somehow, minute after minute her eyes started getting heavier, her mind free and relaxed. She sighed right before falling asleep with a smile still painted on her face.

May8

08:00 am

There is always a moment during the waking up process when you are not truly aware of what is going on around you.

The next morning Santana first felt the warm sensation of the sun light, slightly caressing her jaw, waking her up sweetly. She moaned while her brain was slowly bringing her back to reality, for a second she had no clue where she was, what day it was or what she had done, she only concentrated on the sensation of happiness filling her completely and making her smile as she opened her eyes.

At first the image was blurred but she didn't need eyes to understand that Brittany S Pierce was in the same room, the fruity fragrance of her skin was one of the first things her mind processed.

Her heart immediately raced as the image she had in front of her became clear and vivid. Brittany was lying right in front of her and it was okay as the events of the previous night suddenly flooded her mind. The two of them had shared a bed but she wasn't expecting how her body had moved.

She had fallen asleep so suddenly and to her surprise, she had managed to sleep for probably seven or eight hours in a row, which she hadn't done in a really long time.

Brittany was still sleeping in the same position, the tattooist had indeed kept her promise, she hadn't moved, not even an inch. Her body however was extremely close to the blonde's she was practically hugging her.

Her head was softly placed on Brittany's pillow, so close to the blonde's face that she was able to feel every breath hitting the side of her neck and sending shivers down her spine.

_Holy fucking Jesus._

Her heart was still beating fast against her ribcage and she was afraid that it was pulsating so hard she would eventually wake the blonde.

Brittany was gorgeous, her features were amazingly enlightened by the sunlight and her calm expression made her seem so peaceful.

Santana couldn't help but notice a lock of golden hair that fell gently on her face, covering part of it. Her first impulse was to lift the hand that was still placed on the girl's side and to sweetly move the hair obstructing the tattooist's skin but as she tried to control her body the arm felt too damn heavy. She forced herself to pay attention and lift her hand but it was burning from the smoothness of the skin it was connected with.

Her heart still pounding in her chest, and the dryness in her mouth was not making the task any easier. She wanted to die. She was about to faint as her slim fingers moved the strand of hair, placing it behind her ear, sweetly scratching Brittany's ear lobe.

What the hell was she doing?

Panic suddenly over took her she wasn't supposed to cuddle in the bed of another person. She was supposed to be at home, in her own bed with her boyfriend.

_Fuck._

She rolled on her side and silently slid out of the bed.

She quickly run out of the room and put her trousers on.

Quietly she sought out a piece of paper and a pen.

_Thanks for the fun_.

Those were the only words she managed to write down before rushing downstairs and getting into her car.

She looked at the car's digital watch.

_08 May 2013 - 08:30 am _

She sighed as she realized that the next session with Brittany would have been right on the day of her birthday.

* * *

**Hey guys! i know it took me a while to update (sorry!) but summer is very distracting :P**

**Anyway, next week i'll leave for Boston for a couple of weeks (so excited!) but i'll try to write a lot before my departure:)**

**Oh..aaaand..I've recently joined Tumblr, follow me if you want. I'll post something about Urban Ink and other shows! **

**My account is: orphanfangirl**

**Hope you liked the chap and whish you wonderful holidays!**

**xoxo**


	9. Chapter 9

08:30 am

26. 26 is not just a number. As a matter of fact, 26 is the atomic number of iron,

26 is the number of letters in the Latin alphabet, or the age at which males can no longer be drafted in the United States and 26 is the number of miles to be run in a marathon. 26 can be a number of different things, with a variety of different significances, but today it simply only meant one thing to Santana Lopez.

Today, 26 represented the number of years she had been living on the planet, the number of years she had been breathing and the number of years she had been forced to live her life as somebody else.

She had woke up with the overwhelming sensation that she was about to throw up and all she had been able to do was run into her bathroom and take a shower, in the vain hope she would be able to wash away her sorrow. The cold water running down her smooth skin helped a little bit, temporarily soothing her ever growing depression.

Fuck, it was her birthday and she was turning 26. Wasn't she supposed to be happy and excited? But all her brain seemed to be able to process was sadness and discomfort.

She quickly got out of the bathroom to take new underwear from her drawer, trying to be as fast and as silent she could as to not wake Ray up.

She wasn't afraid of annoying him she was actually more concerned on having to deal with him so early in the morning. Unfortunately her attempts of avoiding the man she was living with were thwarted when she heard his sleepy voice telling her to come back to bed.

And that was the beginning of one of the most painful things Santana had to deal with these past months.

Ray had hugged her and kissed her sweetly wishing her a happy birthday. Santana giggled in response trying to hide her uneasiness and hoping that the moment would be over soon.

She didn't know the reason why she suddenly found him so repellent and even the idea of just standing next to him was making her feel sick, she was hoping it was only a stupid phase cos she really wasn't able to imagine a life without him telling her what to do and how to behave.

But then the kisses became heavier, more passionate and she had immediately understood what was about to happen. She didn't even try to fight against Ray's lust and she was merely compliant when he laid her on the silk sheets. No, she simply had let him treat her like a doll or some fucking sex toy.

And so, there she was. Lying beneath him, while he panted and moved his fucking dick in and out, with his classic slow and disarming rhythm. She buried her face into his shoulder, trying to hold back the tears and all the negative thoughts that were populating her mind.

She forced herself at least to think about something that would make her feel better, she just needed to resist for two or three more minutes since Ray wasn't a Casanova by any stretch of the imagination.

And in that moment of complete despair only one thought came to her rescue. The image of a certain blonde tattooist popped into her mind, spreading a sort of hope into her body.

Suddenly very inappropriate thoughts invaded her mind and Santana couldn't help but bury her face into her guy's skin trying to focus on the present and not on what having sex with Brittany would have been like. Would it have been sweeter and slower that having sex with Ray? Of course it would have been so fucking weird since she was a girl and Brittany was another girl, and she was aware that…The plumbing was different but somehow she wasn't scared to try something completely new. She just wondered how the blonde girl, that apparently was a womanizer, would have treated her.

Luckily for her she didn't need to mull over those thoughts for long since Ray reached his peak of pleasure after two minutes, emitting his classic groan before letting his body fall completely against her.

As usual he giggled happily, satisfied and kissed her on the forehead before pulling away and to clean up and get ready, leaving Santana naked in the bed with the need to have another shower.

_Fuck, perfect way to start the day._

_Another shower later._

Santana sat quietly at the wonderful kitchen table made of Italian marble that Ray had directly ordered from the country of sun and pizza, adding an artistic tone to their love nest.

She was trying so hard to push the emptiness that had practically invested her away, but with each effort her mood just seemed to worsen.

The fact that it was her birthday was simply underlining how wrong her life was at the moment and was increasingly enhancing the overwhelming feeling, she wasn't in the place she was supposed to be. Sitting here at their kitchen table after having sex, with her boyfriend, and feeling like crap.

"Hun?" that word woke her from her blurred thoughts and forced her to lift her gaze to meet her boyfriend's eyes that were sweetly looking at her, unaware of her inner turmoil.

"What?" Santana replied with an uncaring, disinterested tone.

"I've asked if you want honey or syrup on your pancakes." He repeated calmly, visibly relaxed from their quickie.

"Oh, I-I none thanks." she said back lowering her glance to keep on playing with the little spoon she was holding in her fingers.

"Oh come on San, it's your birthday. Try to smile a bit!" He insisted probably noticing the dark expression painted on her face.

Santana didn't answer and kept staring at the marble patterns on the table.

Ray quickly walked to her noticing her dark mood, and stopped right In front of her smiling.

Santana was so fucking upset in that moment. Angry for so many fucking reasons, for having been literally fucked without feeling even a hint of pleasure, for having spent the entire night at Brittany's place without even getting a fucking phone call from her boyfriend and basically for being so stupid that she actually put up with all that shit.

Ray looked at her so intensely and so heavily she felt forced to lift her gaze.

"Hey." He whispered softly, in what seemed to be an understanding, comforting tone. "Babe, it's your birthday and I want you to be happy." He added leaning forward to hug her and Santana couldn't help but bury her face into his shoulder one more time. "Just think about something that can make you happy."

_Brittany._

"And we'll try to achieve it!" He added with a painted smile on his face.

At those words Santana couldn't help but feel a little bit of relief and somehow his kind words lit up her mood. She shyly hinted a smile and Ray understood that now was the time.

He turned his back to grab something of the marble counter and Santana simply followed his movements wondering what he was up to. She was already aware that the time for her birthday present had arrived and she was kind of happy about it. Who doesn't like receiving presents?

What she wasn't expecting was the little black box that popped out. From the gold filigree finishing she could tell that scary little box came from an excellent jeweler.

Her heart immediately froze at that sight. For a second she literally wasn't able to breathe or process any other thought except from what could be in that little black box.

"So, while you are thinking about what makes you happy, here is something that I hope will make you a little bit happier." He said in a whisper.

No fucking way. This can't be happening. She wasn't ready for that little box it was simply the worst timing ever.

She felt like she was stuck in limbo, she had recently started wondering if Ray was the right person for her, if she was supposed to feel barely anything, apart from a weird sense of safety. On the other side though she knew she wasn't ready to start considering the idea of leaving him or doing something to improve her situation.

A fucking engagement ring was the worst thing that could happen to her in that moment.

_Fuck me._

She thought her eyes goggling, as Ray was gently taking her left hand and placing the little black box in the palm of her hand.

_Oh, shit._

She quickly roamed her eyes around the room and for a second she seriously considered the idea of running out through the window.

"Oh, my god…" she managed to whisper still staring at the box as if it was representing a waking nightmare.

"Come on, open it." Ray said excited. She could tell that he was looking for her reaction but she was so damn afraid of what he would see.

Her eyes began to squint as she slowly applied enough pressure to lift to cover of the box. She could feel her heart hammering like crazy against her ribcage and her head was just about ready to explode.

"Oh…" She commented, voice still trembling.

A pair of beautiful diamond earrings were shining in that little box and she had never felt so relieved in her entire life.

_Oh, fuck. Thank you._

She mentally thanked God for like three times in a row, but then she realized that her boyfriend was still looking at her with a questioning expression on his face.

"Wow, Ray they are amazing." she exclaimed showing all her excitement from the realization that she hadn't just been imprisoned for the rest of her life.

The earrings were obviously amazing, very classy, without a doubt extremely expensive but, as usual, they were nothing like her.

Ray was always buying her those excessively expensive gifts, like he was trying to somehow buy her love, to fill the emptiness in their relationship.

"I love them." she added again smiling.

She didn't care about the stupid present, all she felt was relief and like she had been granted more time to figure out where their relationship was going.

"Ray?" Santana asked quietly.

"Yes?"

"I think I know what could make me happy." She started hesitantly. "Well besides these beautiful earrings." She decided to add in the end.

"And what is that?" Ray asked but Santana could tell that he wasn't that interested in knowing what she was about to say.

_Baby steps._

But before she could process the thought it had already been transformed into words.

"Music." That was the only thing she was able to say. One word. But it was just enough for her.

Ray frowned, squinting slightly at her.

"Aaanndd what is that supposed to mean?"

A light nuance of disappointment in his voice, but for once Santana didn't feel scared or threatened.

She simply shrugged.

"It doesn't have to mean anything. I love music so I was thinking about doing something relating to it."

Ray's questioning expression hadn't changed at all.

"I really don't have anything in mind yet."

"But I don't understand."

"What?"

There was actually nothing to be understood about someone wanting to try something new.

"This. I mean why would you like to start something that is so completely far from who you are, from your world?"

What the hell was he talking about?

"Because I need to do something different, something that can break the routine I have been stuck in for the past three years." She explained calmly. She really wanted him to understand her point of view and she really wanted him to be supportive.

"So, basically you are saying that you are bored with your life, by _our_ life. Aren't you?" He replied still with a defensive tone.

_Yes._

Santana rolled her eyes up to the ceiling, the conversation wasn't supposed to last this long.

"No, I'm just saying that I need a hobby. You have golf, sailing, dinners with your friends and what do I have? Nothing besides meeting with my parents which, I definitely don't consider a hobby."

"And what are you hoping to achieve? Become some kind of superstar or something? You know that we are in the real world where dreams do not come true."

"Ray, what the hell are you talking about?" Santana yelled making him freeze frowning. "Listen I don't want to fight about this stupid thing anymore. I am not saying that I want to turn my life upside down, I'm just informing you that I want to start doing something in my free time while you are having fun. What I decide is up to me, I have to choose what I like not you. So please stop being such an asshole."

Oh my god. Those words had come out of her mouth without even thinking. She would usually never have spoken to Ray like that, but somehow she did and she had no regrets. This was her freaking life and she was so fed up with people telling her what to do all the damn time. It had to stop and she felt like this was the first step to get on the right path.

She looked down to hide the proud smile that was slowly appearing on her face.

12:30 pm -Urban Ink

Brittany S. Pierce was a nice kid. She had grown up in a decent normal family, she had always received all the love she needed and she had never had any big issues. Her coming out to her parents and friends had been completely natural and she had been surrounded by all the compassion and understanding every person in her position would kill for.

Basically her life could be defined as perfect.

Perfect.

Perfect if it wasn't for one little thing, that had literally ruined all her chances to reach happiness in the last 27 years or her flawless life.

It was something her dad's money couldn't buy and something she couldn't even contemplate trying to change.

Herself.

Yes, her way of being had definitely let her reach and gain things most people might struggle to, but, at the same time, she was the reason why she had never felt completely or totally happy. She had always known that there was something wrong with herself and the fact that she had absolutely no reason to complain about her life, made everything that much harder.

Simply put Brittany S. Pierce's life was fucked and she only had herself to blame.

She was a walking talking contradiction. She was always painted as the tough, rude person but she wouldn't hurt a fly. She was reluctant when it came to spending time with people or making new friends yet, her biggest fear was to be left alone.

Sarcasm was her middle name, but she secretly believed in unicorns and magic.

However there was something she was sure about, she hated being interrupted on her lunch break!

Brittany rolled her eyes towards the door trying to glare at the person behind it trough the thick wooden material

She didn't answer unfortunately though that wasn't enough to discourage whoever was looking for her.

The door opened and Sugar's smiling face popped in.

"Hey you." Sugar said happily, pleased to see her friend.

And just like every time she dealt with her sweet friend Brittany couldn't help but smile back.

"Hey."

Sugar sat in the chair for customers at the front of her desk.

"Have you already eaten?"

The blonde nodded towards the almost empty can of sugar sticks.

"Oh okay. This is better." Sugar commented placing a plastic box with containing a kind of salad in front of her. "One day you will thank me." But as she realized that her friend was giving her a blank look she quickly added. "...For taking care of you."

"Aha."

"So, how are things going recently?"

"Fine. Why?"

"Nothing. Can't a friend be interested in your personal life?"

Yes. She could and Brittany was grateful for that but at the same time opening up, had never been one of the easiest things for her.

"I told you. Every thing is just fine."

"Ok. It's just that you seem a little bit…" But then she stopped to focus on a random spot on the desk probably looking for the right words.

"What?"

"I don't know. Not yourself. Don't take this the wrong way, but I've noticed that you have been behaving differently in the past few days and I was wondering if this has something to do with her?"

Oh fuck. Sugar had only been there for three minutes and she had already hit the nail on the head.

"With who?" Brittany replied pretending not to know that her friend was talking about Santana.

Sugar just gave her the _You-know-what-I-mean_ expression.

"Oh come on! Don't lie to me! You never did and you won't start know because of some stupid skinny rich girl you can't fuck." She said visibly annoyed. But her words just made Brittany laugh in response.

"You are a skinny rich girl."

"True but I'm awesome the way I am and mostly I don't fuck with you."

"She is not doing anything wrong Sugar!" Brittany readily said to calm her down.

"So tell me what's wrong about your relationship with her coz it really doesn't seem to be the usual customer-owner relationship."

Brittany let her head fall into her hands releasing a sigh.

"I have no idea, ok?" She admitted, looking up to check her friend's reaction.

"What do you mean? Do you like her?"

"No! I mean yes. Of course I like her. Have you seen her? She is probably the hottest girl I have ever seen." She said in one breathe but then she suddenly stopped as she realized her words seemed more like random ramblings than actual comprehensible speech.

"So? What's the problem? Did she refuse you?"

"No! I haven't even tried anything!"

"So do! Sleep with the girl and get her out of your mind."

"She has a boyfriend, S."

"It was never a problem before if I remember correctly."

Brittany didn't answer. Sugar was right. A lot of girls with boyfriends had crossed the threshold of Urban Ink and most of the time, if she was interested they had left the studio with a tattoo and a good session of lesbian sex. It wasn't her fault she didn't even know why those girls were so easy to conquer. Straight girls were crazy, apparently always so in love with their men, but after a couple of sessions love was turning into disappointment and that was when they were going to her to fill the voids that their relationships couldn't.

Straight girls. She remembered her grandma's advice when she had told her that she was gay.

"Never fall in love with a straight girl." She had said.

Fall in love. That would have been great if she even knew what falling in love was supposed to mean and more importantly how it was supposed to feel.

And then she had met Santana. Yet another straight girl, and another possible conquest.

But somehow she had turned out to be no ordinary girl. She was different, and as long as she knew that the girl was unhappy with her life, she couldn't bare to just categorize her.

"Listen B. If you like her just pursue it. I've seen the way she looks at you and let me say that she is totally into you." Sugar insisted.

"Sugar.." She began. "..It's complicated this time. She is different from the other girls I've met. I would never hit on her, even though I wouldn't mind at all."

"Why?"

"Because you know how I am and you know that I tend to destroy everything I touch. I'm incapable of taking anything seriously and I won't even start explaining to you the countless reason why I can't be in a relationship."

"You still haven't answered my question. Why do you care?"

"-Because.." She almost stuttered. Fuck. She never did that.

"Oh my god you really like her."

"Yes, I've already told you that."

But Sugar quickly shook her head smiling.

"No, no. You really like her, you have feelings for her."

"Don't be stupid."

She did not have feelings for Santana. She was incapable of having feelings for anyone.

"Look at you, all worried you'll hurt her! That's not you at all! Oh Britt, I'm so proud."

"Hey, hey stop it! I don't feel anything towards that person but somehow I care about her, that's why I don't want just to fuck her and ruin her life. I don't want to talk about it anymore, ok?"

At those words Sugar lifted her hands up as if she was surrendering.

"Ok, ok! But remember that avoiding a problem doesn't solve it."

"Ok, Yoda. What should I do?"

"It depends. What to you want?" Sugar asked putting her in front of the real issue. She had no fucking idea of what she wanted from Santana or what she was hoping for.

"Sugar, I have no clue. The only thing I know is that I don't want to hurt her and I don't want to be my usual jerk self with her. I don't know, I probably just want to keep seeing her and the best way to do that is not doing anything stupid. I really don't want to screw things up this time, she already has her own problems and I don't want to make her life any worse."

"Oh honey, you got it bad. The only thing I'm sure about is that hiding or trying to control feelings doesn't work at all, so my little piece of advice is try to live this relationship as you feel and try to behave in a normal way this time."

"I have already told you. There is nothing to live, she is taken and the only thing I am hoping is to at least be her friend."

Sugar sweetly smiled at her and Brittany for the first time since she had known the girl and noticed a worried shadow in her gaze. She was sharing the same concern. Where was that "friendship" taking her? What the hell was happening to her and why the hell couldn't she even think about just fucking Santana like she usually would? The real issue was that she had absolutely no clue about how to deal with this situation and another thing to know about Brittany S. Pierce was that she didn't like not having her emotions under control.

09:00 pm

Santana parked her car in the driveway of their house and switched off the engine. She looked up at the place where she had been living for the past three years. It was undeniable that the place screamed class, but she couldn't help feel the same sensation she had been experiencing for the past few days when she came home.

_She didn't belong here._

She rolled her eyes to the clock on the dashboard and noticed it was already late.

9.00 pm

The work out at the gym had taken longer than she had anticipated but she really needed to ease some tension. She, or well they, didn't have any plans that evening since Ray had an important after dinner party with his old college mates. Even though it was her birthday, he couldn't miss it for any reason in the world.

Santana opened the car door and slowly approached the entrance of her big house already making plans for how she wanted to spend her night alone.

For a second she wished she had asked Brittany to come over and to hang out together but, earlier during her Urban Ink's session, she barely had enough courage to tell her that it was her birthday.

The session had gone pretty well and Brittany had pleased her again by being in a surprisingly good mood and telling her funny incredible stories about her years at MIT. Santana became numb to the pain of the laser therapy thanks to all her attention was focused on Brittany's mesmerizing voice.

It was incredible how the blond had been leading her life, she had been on this planet for only 27 years but she had amazing stories to tell as if she was an experienced veteran and Santana didn't even try to deny that listening to her was the best part of her week. Well, listening to her and feeling her wonderful soft hands massage her. Santana could barely understand how the tattooist managed to make her skin burn and pleasantly tingle by only grazing it.

She was naively hopeful that the more she got to know Britt, the more likely it was for the undeniable attraction she felt towards her to fade. Well, that was the plan. The ugly scary truth was that she was barely able to concentrate when Brittany was talking and smiling at her. She was so fucking worried that the initial attraction was turning into something different.

She mentally cursed herself for letting the blond snake into her thoughts for the umpteenth time that day and opened the door to the place she was supposed to call home.

"Ray! Are you home?" She shouted from the hall to check if she had to wear her fake smile or if he had already gone.

"Babe! Kitchen!" She heard him reply.

_Fuck._

She really didn't feel like seeing him after the disastrous sex session that happened this morning. She just wanted to slip into her pajama and watch TV with a glass of wine maybe.

She turned the corner at the end of the corridor and all of a sudden the place felt different, better and more positive.

_What the hell?_

Instinctively she narrowed her eyes to check if she was hallucinating or if she really was seeing Ray and Brittany sat in her kitchen talking with two opened beers.

"Oh, hi honey! Look who came to say hello." Ray said happily pointing towards the tattooist.

"Hi Santana."

Her heart started hammering like hell against her chest. What the hell was she doing here? Why the hell did she and Ray seem to be best pals?

"H-hi." She had so many questions in her mind but no time to put them into words since Ray had already started talking again.

"You didn't tell me that Brittany was the daughter of Mr. Pierce!" He said and now Santana could understand the reason why her boyfriend was acting kind towards the blond. But still she had no clue on why Brittany was acting so politely towards a person she would normally want to punch in the face.

"I- I…" she stuttered. "I must have forgotten babe."

"Brittany just kindly invited us to have dinner with her and her dad but unfortunately I'm going out in a couple of minutes. But you should go honey." Ray explained, excited to get his hooks into more members of LA's leading class."

"I would love to." Santana replied politely to avoid any complaints. She just wanted him to leave and she wanted to be alone with Brittany so she could talk to her about what the hell was going on.

"Perfect. Ok then ladies, have fun and Brittany say hello to your dad for me and thank him for the invitation." He said standing up and getting closer. "Have a great night babe." He added placing a sweet kiss on her lips but, similarly to that morning, she was annoyed by that and she couldn't help but lower her gaze to hide her frustration.

Santana kept staring at the floor and the seconds it took Ray to get out of the house felt like an eternity. Once she heard the sound of the main door slamming her eyes quickly rolled up to find the blond ones already waiting for hers.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She asked shamelessly but her arrogant tone wasn't enough to annoy the tattooed girl.

Brittany took the last sip of her beer and then she stood up and Santana literally died.

She was wearing a pair of incredibly tight jeans and a simple white top with the Rolling Stones' logo but she was flawless. Santana immediately felt her mouth go dry as she watched the girl approach her.

_Oh my…_

The denim fabric perfectly wrapped all the blond's curves showing off her amazingly sensual hips but what was really unbelievable was her top. White, simple, it would probably didn't cost much but Santana had the overwhelming urge to know where it was from so she could personally thank the person who sold it her.

"I've..." The blonde said taking another step in her direction.

Santana was petrified, when she noticed Brittany's nipples shyly popping out under the thin layer of cotton fabric.

_Oh fuck._

In this moment now San was so fucking attracted to Brittany all she wanted to do was push her against the kitchen table and touch her beautifully enticing chest.

"...Heard."

Another step.

Those blue eyes still glued to hers. "...That it's your birthday."

Brittany was right in front of her and Santana let out a kind of choked moan. Her blood immediately flushed up to her face making her cheeks burn like hell.

"It is indeed." She knew it was a lame answer but her mind was totally incapable of anything more.

"And so you want to make me meet your dad?" She added trying to keep looking in her eyes and not let her gaze drop to the blonde's lips.

Brittany smirked, darkening her glance.

"Santana, do you really think I'm taking you out to have dinner with my father?" She replied lightly giggling.

"So, where are we going?"

Brittany smiled and Santana swore that the distance between them decreased again.

"You will have to trust me." She replied still looking at her.

She trusted Brittany, she really did. The real issue was that she didn't trust herself anymore.

"I have to change." She stuttered realizing that she was still wearing her gym outfit.

Brittany let her eyes drop onto her lips and trail down following each one of her curves and then up again.

"Ok, but wear something casual." She said slowly lifting her arms.

Santana was standing still, her muscles stiff, ready to catch any hint of the blonde's movements.

The tattooist slightly leant forward and let her long fingers slide into her hair.

Santana immediately felt a fucking huge knot in her stomach and her palms began to sweat.

_Oh fuck._

Her heart skipped a beat when the blond tightened the grip in her hair forcing her to look up at her.

She needed to stop, she needed to fucking pull away or she would do something incredibly stupid.

Santana swallowed thickly

"Leave your hair down cos I love the way it falls on your shoulders." Brittany added in a whispering seductive tone that immediately sent a wave of goose bumps down her back.

_Oh shit._

She knew she was supposed to move and she knew she was supposed to go and get changed. But those eyes were so fucking hypnotizing she just couldn't stop staring into them.

Brittany didn't move either. Fuck, she wasn't ready, she wasn't prepared at all.

"I-I…" but her mind was empty the only thing she was able to do was look down unintentionally meeting the blonde's teasing lips.

She didn't know if Brittany had done exactly the same but she swore she could feel the weight of her glance on her lips as well.

"Santana?" The tattooist asked.

God she loved the way the girl pronounced her name.

"I'm going." She said and forced herself to take a step back to get out of the danger zone.

"I'll wait for you right here." Brittany informed her giggling and sitting at the kitchen table again. "Oh and can we use you car?"

"Sure." Santana replied turning her head to meet the girl's gaze.

Brittany hinted a smirk. That girl was so up to something.

"Can I drive?" she questioned hopefully.

"Nope." She really didn't mind Brittany using her car but she found it way more exciting to tease her right back.

"Bitch."

Ok, she was expecting that answer but she didn't care at all, she simply smiled back amused.

"I'll right back." She added before heading quickly to her bedroom.

_30 minutes later..._

"After you birthday girl." Brittany said with a hint of teasing, before she opened the door to a bar Santana had never been to before.

Santana crossed the threshold of the entrance and hesitantly looked around, both a little scared and excited to find out why they were here.

After a quick look the place didn't seem to be anything special, but then, as if everybody was waiting for them, a melody started playing and a nice girl on a little stage started beautifully singing the well- known song _The scientist_. The girl had a very tender and captivating voice that Santana couldn't help but still and stare at her performance.

"Santana?" Brittany called out to her.

"Yeah?" She replied breathily. "Wow." She added to not seem like a complete jerk.

"Come on, let's have a seat."

And then Brittany did something that completely diverted her attention from the singing girl. She wrapped her thin fingers around her wrist and, just like every time her skin touched the blonde's, she went into that all too familiar catatonic state she had become increasingly familiar with.

Santana let the girl drive her through the bar until they found a free table in front of the stage.

"This place is so cool." Santana commented roaming her eyes around. But she was inevitably drawn back to the stage to watch the girl singing.

"_No one said it was easy."_

"That's why I brought you here."

"Do you come here often?" Santana asked eager to find out another little detail of Brittany's marvelous life.

"Sometimes." The tattooist replied staring at her with her big watery eyes. "I have a friend who is trying to make his way into the music field. When he brought me here for the first time I immediately fell in love with this place. It's so… inspirational."

Santana nodded in agreement. She felt like ice had just run trough her veins.

"It is. Is it some kind of karaoke or something?"

"Yeah exactly. The only difference is that only artists, singers or musicians can perform here. It's a nice way to avoid drunken, out of tune people that annoy the customers and you can listen to good music for free." She explained waving her hand to the waitress on the other side of the bar. The girl smiled and waved back nodding, probably all too aware of what Brittany wanted to drink. Santana couldn't help but wonder if that cute girl was another of Brittany's numerous conquests. She quickly shook her head trying to push the image of the two of them kissing away.

"Ok." Brittany said connecting her eyes back to hers. "You're next."

"W-what?!" Santana asked her voice trembling but sincerely hoping she had misheard Brittany.

The blonde giggled and Santana wondered if she was looking forward to seeing her in an uncomfortable position or if she really believed Santana was capable of what she was asking her to do.

"The DJ is a friend of mine and he owes me a favor." Brittany started. "So I asked him to let you sing tonight."

"No way!" Santana almost shouted.

"I know! Isn't it great?"

"No! No! Hey I don't know why you thought that making me sing in front of all these people would have been a nice thing to do, but there is no way I'm doing that!" Santana replied firmly, her heart just about ready to explode out of her chest.

"Why?"

"Because..." She said putting particular emphasis on the first syllable. "... I'm like the shyest person on the planet and the thought of stepping onto that stage scares me to death."

"That's a good thing! Oh come on Santana I believe you can do this!"

She shook her head quickly in the negative.

"No Brittany, I said no." She stated firmly with as much confidence as she could muster she wanted to put an end to this conversation. However she was acutely aware that a fight had just begun.

In the mean time the girl on the stage had stopped singing and everyone was clapping their hands in a sign of approval.

"You don't even know if I can sing."

Brittany shrugged in response.

"You have a beautiful voice, I'm a hundred percent sure that you can do this." She said and for a second Santana felt a warm sense of safety invest her.

_Focus. You are not doing this._

"I wouldn't put you in this position if I weren't sure you could do this." Brittany insisted while the DJ was already inviting the next person to go up on stage.

Santana was petrified. She couldn't do that, she didn't want to do that, to embarrass herself in front of all those people and mostly she didn't want to let Brittany down.

"I'm not…" She said again but before she could finish her sentence Brittany placed her palm on the back of her hand to stop her ramblings.

"Ok, let's put it this way." She said with her classic teasing smirk. "I bet twenty bucks that by the end of the next song you will be singing on that stage."

Santana let out her first carefree laugh since she had left her house.

"You are crazy." She said while looking for her purse. "I raise you fifty dollars cos nothing, not even Mr Obama in person, can make me get upon that stage." She added placing the money on the table.

Brittany laughed back and stood up.

"Ok girl. It is so on." She said before walking off and leaving her there.

"Where the fuck?"

Santana's eyes followed Brittany getting on the stage and waving smiling at the little crowd.

What the hell was she doing? Santana immediately regretted accepting the challenge but she should have been more prepared since every minute spent with said girl seemed to be crazy, memorable or both.

"Hi everybody, my name is Brittany and I'll sing the next song cos my friend over there, who by the way has a flawless voice, refuses to sing for us." She said pointing directly at her. Santana immediately felt all the eyes on her and her initial instinct was to vanish from that place.

"So, if you have any complaints about the next performance you should blame her." Brittany added while the music started.

Santana immediately recognized the song and somehow managed to smile since she knew that Brittany had chosen it especially for her.

She was still clueless as to what Brittany was hoping to achieve and the fleeting embarrassment she had just caused her had passed and there was still no hope in hell she was going to sing. But then Brittany opened her mouth and the song lyrics came out.

_Ever wonder about what he's doing_

_How it all turned to lies_

_Sometimes I think_ _that it's better to never ask why_

There was only one thing that occupied her mind in that moment, complete astonishment. Brittany was probably the worst singer in the world, there was no way she could be that out of tune. But incredibly, she was actually that bad. Santana though, found her even more incredible in that moment. She continued singing without showing any signs of embarrassment or shyness but Santana could already hear the murmur of the people in the pub.

She knew exactly what that bitch was doing but there was no fucking way she was letting her win!

_Where there is desire_

_There is gonna be a flame_

_Where there is a flame_

_Someone's bound to get burned_

_But just because it burns_

_Doesn't mean you're gonna die_

_You've gotta get up and try try try_

_Gotta get up and try try try_

_You gotta get up and try try try_

Santana still couldn't believe how a person could have so much self-confidence they were able to go on stage and make a complete fool of themselves, but somehow Brittany was proving to her that, at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is the way you see yourself and not the way the others see you.

Santana's eyes goggled unable to believe what she was witnessing. Brittany didn't seem to have any intentions of stopping at all and the murmur in the place had turned into annoyed chatter, people probably trying to understand if this was some kind of joke.

She quickly looked around, trying to read the other people's reactions and then refocused her chocolate eyes back on the tattooist who hadn't stop staring at her, not even a hint of embarrassment in her eyes. Her natural cheeky smirk was still on her face like she wanted to prove that she had the situation under control.

_Oh, fuck me._

She knew she was supposed to stay sat down, without moving a muscle, but something stronger than her was controlling her body. It wasn't her fault that all the cells making up her body were suddenly pushing her to take the first step towards the stage with the sole intention of saving Brittany from her embarrassing situation.

She cursed herself for what she was about to do and then she just did it. She moved her foot and slowly approached the stage before getting on it and taking another microphone.

_What the hell am I doing?_

Her heart was beating like hell in her ribcage and, each step, her legs felt weaker and weaker. The walk to the stage was a blur until she suddenly found herself right next to Brittany on stage in front of everyone. The music was playing and it was almost time to start singing again.

Santana was still looking at Brittany, she couldn't turn to face the audience otherwise she would have probably had a panic attack. The tattooist had followed her every movement with clear trusting eyes and for the first time since she had stepped into that place Santana thought she could do it. The blonde nodded, still smiling, trying to make her understand that it was her moment.

_Why her? Why had Brittany chosen her? Why was this person who seemed so free doing all this for her? Just to make her gain a little bit of self-confidence?_

Santana didn't have the answers to that question but somehow, having Brittany standing in front of her, was enough. Enough to make her slowly lift the microphone and start singing.

There is something weird about hearing your voice when you sing, it doesn't seem to belong to you, it feels weird, like listening to someone else and that was exactly how Santana felt when the first words came from her lips.

A glacial shiver quickly ran down her spine and she instinctively closed her eyes. She knew the song, she had listened to it on the radio so many times but she had never really paid attention to what it was trying to say.

_But just because it burns_

_Doesn't mean you're gonna die_

_You gotta get up and try try try_

Whilst singing, she almost forgot how to take in oxygen especially when she felt Brittany's smooth fingers shyly wrapping around hers. Oh my fucking god, what was happening? She was singing in front of everyone while a person she was sure hated her, was holding her fucking hand.

And as quick as everything had started it came to an end just as quickly. The music stopped playing and she knew that it was the time to open her eyes.

She slowly unlocked her eyelids and her brain suddenly came back to life and in that one second everything going on around her flooded her senses. People were clapping their hands Brittany still holding her hand and herself… she was smiling so hard that her facial muscles were almost hurting.

The sensation she was feeling was absolutely indescribable.

"Oh my god you did it!" Brittany exclaimed and Santana didn't know if it was the excitement or the dizziness that was controlling her body but she leant forward to innocently hug the blonde. But as soon as contact was made she quickly came to her senses.

_Santana, seriously?_

She cursed herself for such a stupid and impulsive move but Brittany didn't react the way she was expecting.

The tattooist hugged her back, lightly caressing her back with both her palms.

It lasted just two seconds but that first contact felt so good, having Brittany's breast pressed against hers, having her so close to be able to breathe her intoxicating perfume was something she craved for.

But that was probably too much for the reckless badass she was holding in a tight and soft embrace.

"Hey _barbie, _I don't do hugs." She whispered making her ear tingle.

Classic Brittany behavior.

Santana realized that every time she got too close to that girl, Brittany somehow managed to always get herself out of the potentially awkward situation. But then why was she always teasing and annoying her with her jokes and her flirty moves yet, she seemed so afraid of real contact. Santana might have just found Brittany's kryptonite. She had never been an arrogant person, but somehow her Mexican psychic eye was telling her she was right.

No, it wasn't possible. Was it?

She smirked, as she pulled away, determined to finally turn their relationship upside down.

They got off the stage to let other people perform and got back to their drinks that had magically appeared on their table.

"Wow. I feel…" Santana stuttered, she really was trying to stop smiling but the adrenaline was still running through her body.

"Excited?" Brittany suggested.

"Yeah! That was incredible!"

"I told you I know how to turn a girl on." She commented teasingly, but Santana didn't lower her gaze this time, she was completely at ease.

"Well, if this is your effort every time you fuck someone, I'm really impressed."

She immediately noticed the blond frowning, intrigued by that unexpected answer.

"Oh no, _Barbie_. You are the only one that requires this kind of effort."

_Barbie_. Again.

"I bet." Santana replied laughing. "But thank you. I'd never of done something like this if it weren't for you."

"No problem. You really have a wonderful voice."

"Thanks."

"But, do you know what this means?" Brittany asked tauntingly.

She knew.

"That I've just saved you from the most awkward situation?"

"Oh please, I was doing so well."

"No you weren't! So...you're welcome!"

Brittany smiled back and bit her lower lip, immediately catching Santana's attention.

_Oh fuck._

The image of the blonde's tongue piercing quickly crossed her mind and Santana couldn't help but wonder if it was the only one.

"It doesn't matter because what matters is that you owe me 50 dollars."

"Shark!" Santana exclaimed but broke the tense moment with a laugh and Brittany hinted a smile back.

"You should do something with that voice." she said cutting her off.

Santana shrugged taking a sip of her drink. "Ok first of all, I'm not that good and second I tried to tell Ray that I wanted to do something regarding music and singing, but…"

"But what?" Brittany stepped in readily, her voice had rapidly changed from relaxed to one coated in annoyance.

"He didn't seem too thrilled of the idea."

"Santana, I know that I'm probably not one who should tell you this and I should mind my own business."

"But something tells me that you won't" Santana interrupted mocking her getting a glaring gaze back.

"No, I won't and do you want to know why? Because he is a jerk Santana, he shouldn't treat you like this and mostly _you _shouldn't let him treat you like shit."

"I don't let him..." but then she froze since she knew the girl was right. She rolled her eyes at her in order to delay her response so she could think of an answer, any answer but the truth. The truth would ruin this special moment where she felt good, happy and carefree for the first time in so long and she didn't want her stupid problems to ruin it.

"…listen. I know I still have a lot of things to face in my life but, can I just start tomorrow?" she said trying to be honest and delicate at the same time.

For a second Brittany didn't say anything and stared at the table.

"Hey, don't get me wrong. I love talking to you, it's just that I'm having so much fun and-" but suddenly cut what she was going to say when she noticed the shy smile Britt was giving her.

"W-what?" she asked hesitantly.

"Nothing I was just wondering if there is a manual to teach how to be Santana Lopez or it's just something natural."

What did she mean with those words?

But Brittany didn't even give her the time to process the thought.

Was that another defense mechanism?

"So, did you like the song I picked for you?"

"Sure. I didn't know you were a Pink fan."

"Oh no, I hate pop singers that pretend to be rock-stars but I thought you might like it."

"I see." Santana replied blushing a little bit since the girl practically admitted to having done something just for her.

And then again Santana suddenly realized that the music had started playing again but this time it was a sort of club song, with a heavy powerful bass.

The people who just a few minutes earlier had been their audience, were now up and dancing on a small dance floor right in front of the empty stage and next to their table.

This place was amazing.

"Brittany?" Santana asked even if she wasn't a 100% sure of what she was going to say.

Brittany mumbled something that wasn't exactly a word but Santana read it as an authorization to tell her what was on her mind.

"Let's dance." She said standing up and walking next to the table to face Brittany. "Come on!"

"Oh no! I don't dance."

"You know, once I thought you were fun and fearless."

Brittany turned her head to glare at her.

"Santana, you really don't want to play this game with me." She replied darkening her gaze.

Santana couldn't help but feel the knot in her stomach return, tighter than before. She had no intention of surrendering, not this time, but was that just to win for once against the girl that had literally topped her for the past few weeks, or was it because she was secretly dying to dance with her?

She smiled again she couldn't hide the thrilling alive sensation she felt in that moment.

"Coward." she said teasing Brittany one more time.

"Santana…" The way the girl pronounced her name caused a trembling motion in her legs. "...you-"

"I'm not taking a no as an answer." she insisted and this time Brittany had no other option than to roll her eyes up to the ceiling and agree.

"Fine, but I warned you."

Santana turned and started walking toward the spot of the pub where people had gathered dancing.

"I bet you are not that bad." She shouted the music was too high to keep at a normal level.

Then Santana turned on her feet and at the same time, as if someone was waiting for them a remixed version, with a heavier bass, of the song _Latch_ started. She loved this song, the lyrics, the music, it had something incredibly sexy in the rhythm.

Brittany was standing right in front of her and as soon she realized what they were doing, her heart instinctively started beating faster.

Her eyes immediately dropped, to the blonde's tank top, and her enticing chest, shyly coming out.

Santana slowly started waving her hips following the beats of the music.

Brittany stood still not moving at all, except for slightly shaking her head to the beat. Santana managed to swallow back a laugh and, still smiling, said. "Come on, try a little bit harder." she leant forward towards the blonde's ear, until the tip of her nose was almost brushing the tattooist's cheek.

Brittany's mouth suddenly turned into a curved smirk and with a sharp and firm movement she stopped her from pulling away, wrapping her arm around her waist. At the contact of the blonde's hand on her hip, Santana almost jolted.

_Oh fuck._

Maybe, disturbing the sleeping dog hadn't been a smart idea after all.

"I don't want you to fall in love with me." Brittany whispered, her mouth was so close to Santana's face that the brunette managed to feel her breath brushing her jaw. At those words Santana felt her legs become even weaker and if it wasn't for Brittany holding her up she would have probably sagged to the floor.

Here she was again, succumbing to the blonde's arrogance, but no, enough was enough, she wasn't willing to lose, let the girl treat her like this.

She hid the mix of embarrassment and excitement that had invested her and lifted her jaw just enough to look the blonde directly in the eyes.

"Shut up and dance."

At that answer Brittany smirked one more time, probably happy to hear those words.

Santana felt the blonde's hand slowly moving on her back and gently placing on her hip. With a light pressure Brittany pulled her away, to put some distance between them, well as much distance you can have on a crowded dance-floor, and she started dancing, this time for real.

The movements she was doing were simple and slow, nothing complicated or frantic, but Santana was completely mesmerized by the blonde's body, moving rhythmically to the beats. Fuck, Brittany was so good at that, her mouth was going fucking dry at every movement of her hips.

Brittany cut the eye contact for a second to make a turn on herself, slowly enough to give Santana all the time to drop her eyes to the blonde's perfect ass.

Santana tried to ignore the countless hot vibrating waves that overtook her body and closed her eyes for a second, but she almost died when she opened them a second after.

Brittany had closed the distance between them, maybe because someone had pushed her or maybe because she simply wanted to get closer, either way it didn't matter, cos now Santana was just about to die.

She looked down, keeping up her movements with the song, but it didn't matter where she looked every possible point she could settle on, lips, chest, eyes they were all danger zones. Santana didn't know what to do at all she had never found herself in such an odd situation. Everything that was inside her, from her cells, to her organs were urging her to close even more distance between them, to kiss the girl, to caress what seemed to be the most amazing and tasteful skin but luckily for her, her brain was still working.

The fucking throbbing sensation between her thighs was softly torturing her, building the pressure in her lower limbs beat after beat.

Santana rolled her eyes up, meeting Brittany's heated gaze. The way the blonde was looking at her, the way she was chewing her lower lip was too much for Santana to handle. She had no doubt, Brittany wanted her and despite her constant attempts to prove otherwise, she wanted her as well.

She made the last step forward and the blonde took it as an invitation to touch her. Instinctively the blonde grabbed her hips and started helping her move rocking her waist in circles in time with her own movements. Santana wrapped both her hands around the tattooist's neck and held on tight.

She noticed Brittany's gaze drop to her lips and automatically she did the same.

She wanted to lean forward, just a few inches. She also knew she should leave and go away but somehow she couldn't.

Brittany started calmly waving her torso towards her, brushing her chest against her. Ok, this was way too much but Santana couldn't help but start doing the same, tightening the grip on her neck.

"Oh." A slight moan escaped her mouth as she realized she had never been so fucking wet in a public place.

The tattooist knew exactly what she was doing, as she gently trailed her hands up to her back, pleasantly scratching it making her skin tingle under the light pressure.

Quick breaths, suffocated moans, skin brushing and the heat surrounding them caused everything to become almost unbearable. That situation was intense, Santana knew she was about to lose control and the only idiotic thing she managed to do to stop staring those lips was to lean forward just enough to rest her forehead against Brittany's.

They kept dancing like that for what seemed an eternity. Santana suddenly let a whimper escape her lips when she realized she was thinking about having sex with Brittany. If just dancing with her was causing that sick wetness in her panties, more than any man had ever done touching her, she could barely stand the idea of having the girl focusing on her naked body.

Everything was so wrong and exciting at the same time. The attraction between the two of them was undeniable, the air was electrical.

Brittany let her fingers slide into her hair, _again_, and firmly grabbed it pulling up to make her lift her head.

"Uhg." Santana almost shouted, not prepared for the sudden movement.

Brittany took advantage of her exposed flesh and leant forward placing her wet humid lips on it. At the contact of those incredible lips on her skin Santana almost died. Brittany didn't kiss, suck or lick her neck, no, she simply rested her mouth on her skin but the brunette could feel the blonde deeply inhaling and releasing her breath.

The knot in her stomach was going crazy and she was completely soaked. Following the throbbing sensation between her legs, Santana let one of her hand slide around to the blonde's cheek and caress it.

"Santana?" Brittany whispered against her skin.

"Mhmm…" she murmured closing her eyes.

"What are we doing?" she asked.

What? Brittany was pulling away? The girl that had practically been screaming _I want to fuck you_ since they met for the first time, was pulling away from such a hot situation?

But Santana's mind wasn't ready to answer and the only suffocated words that came out of her mouth were.

"I just want to feel something."

_I just want you._

* * *

**Hi guys! This An is going to be a litte bit longer than the usual ones.**

**I really want to thank (like really really) you for all your feedbacks and all the love towards this fic. I feel blessed and I'm sorry if I wans't able to answer to all the messages for the last chap!**

**I'm also sorry cos it took me ages to update but with holidays, work and life I had really little time. (I swear the next one will thank less)**

**I hope you like this last chapter and i want also to thank Ruby-may89, my wondeful beta. this story wouldn't be like this if it wasn't for her! She is also a valuable, flawless writer, so check her story out, Only you!:)**

**Thank you also for your messages/follows on Tumbrl! i love it and i'm having so much fun with it!:)**

**Anddd...now, I also should apologise for the cliffhanger, but I won't:)**

**Have an amazing week! Love you all! Peace!**


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